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LESSONS ON OBJECTS, 



L. AND O. SEJ5MEV, THAMES DITTO V, SLRKKV. 



LESSONS ON OBJECTS; 

AS GIVEN TO CHILDREN 

BETWEEN THE AGES OF SIX AND EIGHT, 

IN A PESTALOZZIAN SCHOOL, 
&t dTSjcam, Surrey. 



" We daily call a great many things by their names, without ever 
inquiring into their nature and properties ; so that, in reality, it 
is only their names, and not the things themselves, with which 
we are acquainted." Aiken, 



>i-(> 



SIXTH EDITION 






PUBLISHED BY R. B. SEELEY, AND W. BURNSIDE 

AND SOLD BY L. AND G. SEELEY, 

FLEET STREET, LONDON. 

MDCCCXXXVII. 



PREFACE. 



Pestalozzi was peculiarly solicitous that the 
idea of his method of Education should not be 
confounded with the form it might assume. He 
felt, and strongly felt, the value, the power, and 
the truth of that idea ; and highly as he was dis- 
posed to appreciate the labours of his disciples 
in the practical application of it to the work 
of education ; still he saw that they were at 
best imperfect, incomplete embodyings of the 
grand and profound conceptions in which he 
might be said intellectually " to live and move 
and have his being." The continual appeal 
which he made from the imperfections of his 
practice, to the beauty and truth of his principles, 
contributed perhaps to attach to himself the 
character of a benevolent visionary, and to his 
system, the charge of impracticability. Much 
had been written, much had been said, yet little 
seemed to have been done; for even his own 
school, miserably conducted in many respects, 
presented but a cloudy and distorted exhibition 
of his views. Hence the man of lofty mind and 
feeling heart quitted Yverdon with a sigh of 



VI PREFACE. 

regret: while the shallow reasoner and self-satis- 
fied routier casta smile of contempt on principles 
which he could not discover to be true, in the 
midst of the disorder that impeded and deformed 
their developement. 

Profoundly convinced of the truth of Pesta- 
lozzi's views, and warned against his errors by 
long actual observation of their consequences, 
the Writer of these prefatory remarks determined 
to attempt the introduction of his method into 
England, religiously preserving the Idea, but 
adapting the Form to those circumstances in 
which he might be placed. He considered that 
the most effectual mode of accomplishing this 
end was to devote himself to the formation and 
conduct of a school, in which the arrangement 
and practical application of those principles might 
be made. To exhibit the system in operation, 
to elaborate by means of experiments continually 
repeated, a course of instruction ; and above all, 
to prepare materials for an appeal to actual 
results, seemed to him a far more useful and 
effectual, though less rapid or brilliant process, 
than that of dragging it before reluctant audiences 
at public meetings or of advocating its merits in 
the periodical publications of the day. He 
was content that it should be buried in oblivion 
for a while, assured that if it really possessed 
the life of truth, it would in due time spring 
up with renovated vigour. That time seems 
to have arrived. Attention to this subject is 



PREFACE. Vll 

revived. Schools, professing to be conducted 
on Pestalozzian principles, are increasing in 
number ; and publications issue from the press, 
which point out, with more or less success, the 
manner of applying them to different branches 
of instruction. Under these encouraging cir- 
cumstances, it is proposed to publish, from time 
to time, a number of little treatises of a strictly 
practical nature, embodying in a familiar manner 
the principles of Pestalozzi. They will be the 
result of many years' experience — the corrected 
and recorrected editions of lessons actually given 
by different individuals. They may want some 
of that ideal beauty discernible in works pro- 
duced by an ingenious imagination in the closet, 
but they will possess, on the other hand, the 
solid advantage of ascertained practicability and 
demonstrated usefulness. 

It has been thought desirable to commence 
the series with a course of Lessons on Objects. 
It is a field hitherto little, if at all cultivated. 
The distinguishing principles of the Pestalozzian 
system are strikingly exemplified in it. The 
instruction given in Infants' Schools would be 
improved by the introduction of a similar plan : 
and the early education of the nursery receive a 
new and interesting feature. 

This mode of instruction was suggested to the 
mind of Pestalozzi by the peculiar circumstances 
in which he was placed at Stantz. The brutalized 
state into which the poor children confided to 



V1I1 PREFACE. 

his care had fallen, rendered it absolutely neces- 
sary to find some new mode of interesting their 
minds, and calling out their dormant faculties. 
Nature was the only book with which they 
were conversant, and their first lessons were 
consequently drawn from its pages. Experience 
and judgment retained what necessity first im- 
posed. The subjects ordinarily presented to 
the youthful mind appeared too remote from 
that knowledge which the child acquires without 
regular instruction, and generally to be taught 
in too abstract a manner. It was proposed to 
bring education more into contact with the 
child's own experience and observation, and to 
find in him the first link in the chain of his in- 
struction. In the execution of this plan a series 
of engravings was provided, representing those 
objects which are familiar to children; and the 
lessons consisted in naming their parts, describ- 
ing their structure and use. One day, however, 
the Master having presented to his class the 
engraving of a ladder, a lively little boy ex- 
claimed, "but there is a real ladder in the 
court-yard : why not talk about it rather than 
the picture ! " " The engraving is here, " said 
the master, " and it is more convenient to talk 
about what is before your eyes than to go into 
the court-yard to talk about the other." The 
boy's observation, thus eluded, was for that 
time disregarded. Soon after, the engraving 
of a window, formed the subject of examination : 



PREFACE. IX 

" but why," exclaimed the same little objector, 
" why talk of this picture of a window, when 
there is a real window in the room, and there 
is no need to go into the court-yard for it ? " 
Again the remark was silenced, but in the 
evening both circumstances were mentioned to 
Pestalozzi. " The boy is right," said he, " the 
reality is better than the counterfeit ; put away 
the engravings, and let the class be instructed by 
means of real objects." The plan was adopted ; 
but many inconveniences resulted from the 
arrangement. The subjects which the room 
itself, the building, the premises presented, 
were soon exhausted, or thought to be so ; the 
pupils were taken into the fields ; the weather 
was an occasional hindrance, the variety of 
objects presented out of doors distracted the 
attention of the pupils, and though much interest 
was at first excited, still, as there was no sensible 
progress, no perceivable end, it diminished rather 
than increased in force. It was thought too, 
that exercises so miscellaneous in their character, 
so devoid of systematic arrangement, were essen- 
tially defective as means of intellectual develope- 
ment. Upon these grounds the Miscellaneous 
Object Lessons were abandoned, and the Master 
who had conducted the class substituted a 
course on the parts and functions of the bodily 
frame. These are contained in the Manual des 
Meres, a work presenting valuable hints for early 
education, mixed with much that is insufferably 



X PREFACE. 

tedious. At the period when the writer of these 
observations was in the Institution at Yverdon, 
instruction on Objects had fallen into disuse ; 
but having heard this history from the individual 
who had formerly given it, he felt strongly con- 
vinced that a mode might be adopted, by which 
its advantages would be secured, and its con- 
tingent inconveniences avoided. Having com- 
municated this impression to his sister, with a 
general notion of the plan, he has left the 
execution of the details to her, and the result 
of her labours is the Exercises, now for the first 
time presented to the public. The desultory 
character attaching to them in their original form 
is corrected, by making a previous selection of 
subjects, and presenting them in the class-room. 
As they are intended to be preparatory to 
instruction in natural history, they gradually 
assume a more scientific character, and thus a 
feeling of progress is sustained in the pupil's 
mind. It has been found, indeed, by long- 
experience, that no lessons produce more con- 
tinued interest, or more enlarge the minds of 
children, than those on Objects. 

C. MAYO. 



CONTENTS. 



FIRST SERIES. 

PAGE 

Introductory Remarks * 1 

Lesson 1 . Glass 5 

2. Indian Rubber 9 

3. Leather 9 

4. Loaf Sugar ■- 10 

5. A piece of Gum Arabic 11 

6. Sponge , 12 

7. Wool 13 

8. Water 13 

9. A piece of Wax 15 

10. Camphor 15 

11. Bread 16 

12. Sealing Wax 17 

13. Whalebone 18 

14. Ginger 19 

15. Blotting Paper 19 

16. A piece Willow 20 

17. Milk 21 

18. Rice . . 21 

19. Salt 22 

20. A Horn 23 



Xll CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Lesson 21 . Ivory 23 

22. Chalk 24 

23. A Piece of the Bark of the Oak Tree 25 



SECOND SERIES. 

Introductory Remarks 2G 

Lesson 1. A Pin 27 

2. A Cube of Wood 28 

3. An Uncut Lead Pencil 29 

4. A Pen 30 

5. A Wax Candle 31 

6. A Chair 32 

7. A Book 33 

8. An Egg 35 

9. A Thimble 36 

10. A Penknife 36 

11. A Key 37 

12. A Cup 38 

, 13. A Coffee Berry 39 

14. A Pair of Scissors 40 

THIRD SERIES. 

Introductory Remarks 41 

Lesson 1. A Quill 42 

l'. A Halfpenny 44 

3. Mustard Seed 46 

1 . An Apple 47 



CONTENTS. Xlll 

PAGE 

Lesson 5. Glass of a Watch 49 

6. Brown Sugar 50 

7. An Acorn 51 

8. A Piece of Honey-Comb 52 

9. Refined Sugar 53 

10. A Cork 54 

1 1 . Glue 55 

12. Packthread 56 

13. Honey 56 

14. Butter-cup 57 

15. Lady-Bird 58 

16. An Oyster 59 

17. AFirCone 61 

18. Fur 26 

19. A Laurel Leaf 63 

20. A Needle 64 

21. A Stone 65 

FOURTH SERIES. 

ON SPICES. 

Introductory Remarks 67 

Lesson 1 . Pepper 68 

2. Nutmeg 70 

3. Mace '. 72 

4- Cinnamon 74 

5. Ginger 76 

6. Allspice 77 

7. A Clove 78 



Xiv CONTENTS. 

ON LIQUIDS. 

PAGE 

Lesson 8. Water 82 

9. Oil 85 

10. Beer 86 

1 1 . Foreign "White Wine 87 

12. Vinegar 88 

13. Ink 89 

14. Milk 90 

FIFTH SERIES. 

Introductory Remarks 93 

Lesson 1 . Camphor 94 

2. Wax Candle 95 

3. Putty 95 

4. Shell Lac 96 

5. Butter , 97 

6. Cheese 97 

7. Horn 98 

8. Honey 99 

9. Starch 99 

10. Saffron 100 

1 1 . Court Plaster 101 

12. Glue 102 

13. Tamarinds 103 

1 4 . Indian Rubber, or Gum Elastic 104 

15. Foreign Currants 105 

16. Cork 106 



CONTENTS. XV 

PAGE 

Lesson 1 . Leather 107 

18. Sponge 108 

19. Coffee 109 

20. Tea 109 

21. Rice Ill 

22. Sago 112 

23. The Cocoa Nut 113 

24. Bread 115 

25. Sugar 116 

26. Whalebone 117 

27. Glass 118 

28. Parchment 120 

29. Paper 121 

30. Wool. e . . 124 

31. Cotton 125 

32. Flax 126 

33. Hemp 128 

34. Silk 129 

35. Felt 130 

36. Porcelain 132 

ON METALS. 

Introductory Remarks 134 

Lesson 37. Gold , 134 

38. Silver 139 

39. Quicksilver, or Mercury ....„, 143 

40. Lead 147 

41. Copper 151 

42. Iron 156 



XVI CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Lesson 43. Tin 162 

44. Comparison of Metals 165 

45. On Metals in general 166 

Questions on the Metals 168 

ON EARTHS. 

Lesson 46. Lime 173 

47. Silica 178 

48. Alumine, or Argil 180 

Questions on the Earths 183 

Lesson 49. Coal 186 

50. Granite 189 

51. Salt 190 

52. Slate 194 

53. Coral 196 

ON THE SENSES. 

Lesson 54. Introductory Remarks 198 

55. Feeling or Touch 200 

56. Sight 203 

57. Hearing 204 

58. Smell 206 

59. Taste 207 

VOCABULARY 209 



LESSONS ON OBJECTS 



FIRST SERIES. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

To lead children to observe with attention the 
objects which surround them, and then to 
describe with accuracy the impressions they 
convey, appears to be the first step in the 
business of education. 

The ceaseless activity of the perceptive 
faculties, which characterizes the period of 
childhood, shews that this is the point at which 
instruction would most naturally commence. 
It gives animation to the dull, and precision to 
the lively ; it promotes that clearness of ap- 
prehension which is the solid basis of after- 
attainment, — without which, our judgments are 
unsound, and our reasonings inconclusive. As 
the sphere of observation is enlarged, and the 
pages of history, or the fields of science, are 
explored, the mind accustomed to accurate in- 

B 



2 FIRST SERIES. 

vestigation will not rest content with less than 
satisfactory evidence, either in morals or in 
science. 

The present work consists of five series of 
lessons, each of which increases in difficulty as 
the pupil advances. The order observed in them 
is the result, of some experience, and of several 
trials, which have produced a strong conviction 
of the importance and value of a methodical 
arrangement, and of a very gradual progression. 
It is therefore recommended that no step in the 
course should be altogether omitted, though the 
age and talents of the children must regulate 
the time bestowed on each. 

The first series presents a selection of miscel- 
laneous objects, every one possessing some dis- 
tinguishing quality ; yet so arranged as to have 
an obvious connection with what has preceded. 
The children should be practised in remarking 
those qualities observable by the simple opera- 
tion of the external senses, deferring till a more 
advanced period, those requiring a higher exer- 
cise of mind. 

It is very important that in any course of 
instruction, some definite object should be 
proposed, and that every step should have a 
1 indency towards the end in view. Thus, in 
the scries under consideration, the developement 
of the perceptive faculties is aimed at, and each 
is called into action for the attainment 
of the object. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 3 

One lesson is drawn out fully as a specimen 
of the manner in which the others should be 
given. It would have extended the volume to 
an unnecessary length, and filled it with needless 
repetitions, had each been made out with equal 
minuteness. Much information might have been 
thrown into the preliminary set : but as the end 
proposed was rather to excite the mental powers 
to activity, than to provide them with know- 
ledge, it has been purposely avoided. 

It may perhaps be necessary to guard against 
the error of expecting, in a work like the pre- 
sent, anything more than hints as to the mode of 
arranging and imparting knowledge. The teacher 
must be previously well-informed, in order to 
meet the inquiries which the active minds of 
children continually suggest. Their questions 
will generally point out the best mode of treating 
a subject, or of leading them to the discovery 
of any truth. Precise unvarying rules may be 
laid down for mechanical operations ; but mind 
alone can act upon mind, and bring it into 
vigorous exercise : and all instruction must be 
dry and uninteresting, which has not undergone 
some modification from the person by whom it 
is communicated. There are several faults into 
which teachers are likely to fall ; one is that 
of telling too much to their pupils. They may 
receive the information with pleasure, and appear 
to profit by it ; but great evil arises from such 
a mode of instruction : their minds remain almost 
b 2 



4 FIRST SERIES. 

passive, and they acquire a habit of receiving- 
impressions from others, at a time when they 
ought to be gaining mental power by the exertion 
of their own faculties. Another mistake is that 
of giving a term, before the pupil has felt his 
want of it. When the idea of any quality has 
been formed in his mind, without his being 
able to express it, the name given under such 
circumstances fixes it on the memory : — thus, 
when a child observes that whalebone, after 
having being bent, returns to its original position, 
he may be told that this property which he has 
discovered is called elastic. 1 

The following pages were written originally 
with no view to publication, but merely for the 
use of the school in which they were given ; 
and the information they contain was drawn 
from various sources. No memorandum being 
made at the time, it would now be impossible 
to assign each passage to its respective author, 
though it is probable that those acquainted with 
the popular works on the subjects here treated 
of, may detect, in some places, almost literal 
quotations. 

1 The writer desires particularly to enforce this remark, 
having in one or two instances seen the lessons altogether 
misused. — Thus the qualities were told, and the explanation 
of them given, instead of the object being presented to the 
children, that they might make their own observations 
upon it, and require from the teacher terms for qualities 
clearly discerned, though unknown by name. 



GLASS. 



LESSOR I. 



GLASS. 



Glass has been selected as the first substance 
to be presented to the children, because the 
qualities which characterize it are quite obvious 
to the senses. The pupils should be arranged 
before a black board or slate, upon which the 
result of their observations should be written. 
The utility of having the lesson presented to 
the eyes of each child, with the power of thus 
recalling attention to what has occurred, will 
very soon be appreciated by the instructor. 

The glass should be passed round the party 
to be examined by each individual. 1 

Teacher. What is this which I hold in my 
hand ? 

Children. A piece of glass. 

Teacher. Can you spell the word glass ? 

(The teacher then writes the word " glass " 
upon the slate, which is thus presented to the 
whole class as the subject of the lesson.) You 

1 By this means, each individual in the class is called 
upon to exercise his own powers on the object presented ; 
the subsequent questions of the teacher tend only to draw 
out the ideas of the children, and to correct them if 
wrong. 



6 FIRST SERIES. — LESSON I. 

have all examined this glass ; what do you 
observe? "What can you say that it is ? 1 

Children. It is bright. 

Teacher. (Teacher having written the word 
" qualities,' 7 writes under it — It is bright.) 
Take it in your hand and feel ~ it. 

Children. It is cold. (Writtenon the 
board under the former quality.) 

Teacher. Feel it again, and compare it 
with the piece of sponge that is tied to your 
slate, and then tell me what you perceive in the 
glass. 3 

Children. It is smooth — it is hard. 

Teacher. What other glass is there in the 
room ? 

Children. The windows. 

Teacher. Look out at the window and tell 
me what you see. 

Children. We see the garden. 

1 This question is put instead of asking, " What are its 
qualities?" because the children would not, at first, in 
all probability, understand the meaning of the term ; its 
frequent application, however, to the answers to this 
question, will shortly familiarize them to it, and teach 
them its meaning. 

3 The art of the teacher is to put such questions as may 
lead successively to the exercise of the different senses. 

3 The object of the teacher here is to lead the pupil to 
the observation of the quality smooth, and he does so by 
making him contrast it with the opposite quality in another 
substance ; a mode of suggestion, of which frequent use 
may be made. 



GLASS. 7 

Teacher. (Closes the shutter.) Look out 
again, and tell what you observe. 

Children. We cannot see anything-. 

Teacher. Why cannot you see anything ? 

Children. We cannot see through the 
shutters. 

Teacher. W^hat difference do you observe 
between the shutters and the glass ? 

Children. We cannot see through the 
shutters, but we can through the glass. 

Teacher. Can you tell me any word that 
will express this quality which you observe in 
the glass? 

Children. No. 

Teacher. I will tell you then ; pay atten- 
tion, that you may recollect it. It is transpa- 
rent. 1 What shall you now understand when 
I tell you that a substance is transparent ? 

Children. That you can see through it. 

Teacher. You are right. 2 Try and recol- 
lect something that is transparent. 

1 The fact of the glass being transparent is so familiar to 
the children, that they will probably not observe it till its 
great use in consequence of that quality brings it forcibly 
before their minds. They then feel the want of a term to 
express the idea thus formed, and the teacher gives them 
the name, as a sign for it, and in order to impress it upon 
their minds. To ascertain whether they have rightly com- 
prehended the meaning of the word, they are called upon 
to give examples of its application. 

2 It is but too common a practice to call a child good 
because he gives a right answer, thus confounding intel- 
lectual truth and moral virtue. 



8 FIRST SERIES. — LESSON I. 

Children. Water. 

Teacher. If I were to let this glass fall, 
or you were to throw a ball at the window, 
what would be the consequence? 

Children. The glass would be broken. It 
is brittle. 

Teacher. If I used the shutter in the same 
manner, what would be the consequence ? 

Children. It would not break. * 

Teacher. If I gave it a heavy blow, with 
a very hard substance, what would happen ? 

Children. It would then break. 

Teacher. Would you therefore call the 
wood brittle ? 

Children. JNo. 

Teacher. What substances, then, do you 
call brittle? 

Children. Those which are easily broken. 

These are probably as many qualities as would 
occur to children at their first attempt : they 
should be arranged on the slate, and thus form an 
exercise in spelling. They should then be effaced ; 
and if the pupils are able to write, they may 
endeavour to remember the lesson, and put it 
down on their slates. 



INDIAN RUBBER. — LEATHER. 9 

LESSON II. 

INDIAN RUBBER. 

This substance has been chosen that the class 
may observe the qualities, opaque, elastic, in- 
flammable. The first would be made clear to 
them by contrasting the Indian Rubber with the 
Glass of the preceding lesson ; the second by 
stretching it, and allowing it to resume its for- 
mer shape ; the third, by setting it on fire. 

Qualities of Indian Rubber. 

It is opaque, 
elastic, 
inflammable, 
black, 
tough, 
smooth. 

Uses. — To rub out pencil-marks ; to make balls, 
LESSON III. 

LEATHER. 

Ideas to be developed by the examination of 
this substance, flexible, odorous, durable. 



10 FIRST SERIES. — LESSON IV. 

Qualities of Leather. 

It is flexible, 
odorous, 
water-proof, 
tough, 
smooth, 
durable, 
opaque. 

Uses. — For shoes ; gloves ; reins ; saddles ; 
portmanteaus; for binding books. 

LESSON IV. 

LOAF SUGAR. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, soluble, 
fusible, sparkling. 

Qualities of Loaf Sugar. 

It is soluble, 
fusible. l 

1 The difference between fusibility and solubility may be 
rendered obvious to the children by dissolving one piece of 
sugar in water, and holding another over the candle. It 
is better that such simple experiments should be performed 
in their presence, than that a mere description of the 
operation should be given. 



A PIECE OF GUM ARABIC. 11 

It is brittle, 
hard. 

sweet. 

white. 

sparkling. 

solid. 

opaque. 

Use. — To sweeten our food. 



LESSON V. 

A PIECE OF GUM ARABIC. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, semi- 
transparent, adhesive. 

Qualities of Gum Arabic. 

It is hard, 
bright, 
yellow. 

semi-transparent, 
soluble in w T ater. 
adhesive when melted, 
solid. 

Use. — To unite light and thin substances. 



12 FIRST SERIES. — LESSON VI. 

LESSON VI. 

SPONGE. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, -porous. 
absorbent* 

Qualities of Sponge. 

It is porous. 
absorbent. 1 
soft, 
tough, 
opaque, 
elastic, 
dull, 
flexible, 
light brown. 

Use. — For washing. 



1 The quality of absorbing will be made obvious to the 
class, by shewing that the sponge sucks up any liquid. It 
possesses this quality in consequence of its being full of 
pores. The use to •which an object is applied, often leads 
to the observation of the quality upon which the use is 
dependent. 



WOOL.— WATER. 13 

LESSON VII. 

WOOL. 

Qualities of wool. 

It is soft. 

absorbent. 

white. 

flexible. 

elastic. 

tough. 

durable. 

opaque. 

dry. 

light. 

Uses. — For making cloth ; flannels ; blankets ; 
carpets ; stockings ; &c. 



LESSON VIII. 

WATER. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, liquid, 
reflective, glassy, tasteless, inodorous. 



14 FIRST SERIES.— LESSON VIII. 



Qualities of Water. 

It is liquid, 
reflective. 
glassy. 
colourless. 
inodorous. 1 
tasteless, 
transparent, 
heavy, 
bright, 
wholesome, 
purifying. 

Uses. — To cleanse ; to fertilize ; to drink ; for 
culinary purposes. 

1 In order to direct the attention of the class to the force 
of the syllables less and in, the teacher would ask, — What 
is meant by tasteZess ? Having no taste. What is meant by 
inodorous ? Having no odour. In what" are these words 
alike ? They both tell us what the substance is not. They 
mark then the absence of a quality. What syllables of the 
words mark this absence of the quality ? less and in. Give 
examples of words in which less and in are so used. 



WAX. — CAMPHOR. 15 



LESSON IX. 

A PIECE OF WAX. 

This substance is here introduced, because it 
possesses many of the qualities already remarked. 

Qualities of Wax, 

It is solid, 
opaque, 
dull, 
tough, 
fusible, 
sticky, 
yellowish, 
hard, 
odorous, 
smooth. 

Use. — To make candies and tapers. 



LESSON X, 

CAMPHOR. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, aromatic, 
friable, volatile. 



16 FIRST SERIES. — LESSON XI. 

Qualities of Camphor. 

It is aromatic. 

easily crumbling, or friable. 

white. 

semi-transparent. 

bright. 

soluble in spirits. 

hard. 

solid. 

very inflammable. 

medicinal. 

light. 

volatile. 

Uses. — For medicine; to prevent infection; 
to preserve cabinets from small insects. 

LESSON XI. 

BREAD. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, edible, 
wholesome, nutritious. 

Qualities of Bread. 

It is porous, 
absorbent, 
opaque, 
solid, 
wholesome. 



SEALING WAX. 17 

It is nutritious, 
edible. 
The crum is yellowish white, 
soft when new. 
moist. 
The crust is hard, 
brittle, 
brown. 
Use — To nourish. 



LESSON XII. 

SEALING WAX. 

Idea to be developed by this lesson, impressible. 

Qualities of Sealing Wax. 

It is hard, 
bright, 
brittle, 
fusible, 
opaque. 

soluble in spirits, 
light, 
solid, 
smooth, 
coloured. l 

1 The colour may be determined by the specimen pre- 
sented. 



Itt FIRST SERIES. — LESSON XIII. 

It is inflammable, 
odorous. 
When fused it is soft. 

impressible, 
adhesive. 

Use. — To seal letters. 

LESSON XIII. 

WHALEBONE. 

Idea to be developed by this lesson, fibrous. 

Qualities of Whalebone. 

It is elastic. 1 
durable, 
hard, 
fibrous, 
opaque, 
bright. 
stiff. 

Uses. — As a stirlner ; for whips, bludgeons, &c. 

1 The class should he led to compare the elasticity oi 
Whalebone, with that of Indian Rubber, and to observe 
the difference 



GINGER. — BLOTTING PAPER. 19 

LESSON XIV. 

GINGER. 

Idea to be developed by this lesson, pungent. 

Qualities of Ginger, 

It is pungent, 
dull, 
hard, 
dry. 
fibrous, 
aromatic, 
tough, 
opaque, 
wholesome, 
medicinal, 
jagged, 
light brown. 

Uses.— To flavour food : for medicine. 
LESSON XV. 

BLOTTING PAPER. 

Idea to be developed by this lesson, pinkish, 

C 2 



20 FIRST SERIES. — LESSON XVI. 

Ish added to words expressive of" quality, gene- 
rally denotes the presence of the quality, but in 
a moderate degree. 

Qualities of Blotting Paper. 
It is absorbent, 
porous, 
soft, 
thin, 
pinkish, 
pliable, 
dull. 

inflammable, 
easily torn. 

Use. — To suck up superfluous ink. 
LESSON XVI. 

A PIECE OF WILLOW. 

Qualities of Willow. 

It is hard. 

inflammable. 

fibrous. 

dull. 

opaque. 

solid. 

elastic. 



MILK RICE. 21 

It is flexible, 
white, 
odorous. 

LESSON XVII. 

MILK. 

Qualities of Milk. 

It is white, 
fluid, 
liquid, 
opaque, 
soft. 

wholesome, 
greasy. 
nutritious, 
sweet. 

Uses.— To make cheese ; butter ; puddings ; 
to drink. 



LESSON XVIII. 



RICE. 



Qualities of Rice. 

It is white, 
hard. 



! FIRST SERIES. — LESSON XIX. 

It is opaque, 
smooth, 
stiff, 
bright, 
solid, 
porous, 
absorbent, 
wholesome, 
nutritious. 
Use. — To nourish. 



LESSON XIX. 

SALT. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, granu- 
lans, saline, sapid. 

Qualities of Salt. 

It is white, 
sparkling, 
granulous. 
salt, or saline, 
hard, 
opaque, 
soluble, 
fusible, 
sapid, or has taste. 

Uses. — To flavour food; to preserve from 
putrefaction; to manure land. 



HORN.— IVORY. 23 



LESSON XX. 

A HORN. 

Qualities of a Horn, 

It is hard, 
dull, 
uneven, 
hollow. 

odorous when burnt. 
tapering 1 , 
opaque, 
stiff. 

yellowish brown, 
fibrous. 



Uses. — To make combs ; glue ; lanterns 
handles to knives and forks. 



LESSON XXI. 



IVORY, 



Qualities of Ivory. 

It is hard, 
white. 



24 FIRST SERIES.— LESSON XXII. 

Jt is smooth, 
bright, 
opaque, 
solid, 
durable. 



LESSON XXII. 



CHALK. 



Idea to be developed by this lesson, effervescent."- 



Q u all ties of Ch a Ik . 

It is white, 
friable. 

effervescent in acids, 
opaque. 
dull. 
hard, 
solid. 
dry. 



1 This quality may be made apparent to the children by 
putting the chalk in vinegar. 



BARK. 25 



LESSON XXIII. 

PIECE OF THE BARK OF THE OAK TREE. 

Qualities of Bark. 

It is brown, 
rugged, 
opaque, 
dry. 

inflammable, 
stiff, 
solid, 
durable, 
fibrous, 
dull. 

astringent. 1 
inside smooth. 

Uses. — To guard the tree from injury ; for 
tanning. 

1 The children may be made to understand the quantity 
of astringency, by drawing their attention to the contrac- 
ing effect produced by eating a sloe. 



SECOND SERIES. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

In this series the children should be much 
exercised upon the qualities already remarked? 
but these should now be presented to them in 
other objects. This repetition combines, with 
the advantage of fixing the knowledge acquired, 
that of enabling them to form the abstract idea 
of the quality. 

Having had all their senses brought into 
action, they may be led to determine the sense 
by the exercise of which any particular property 
was observed : thus, ' How did you find out 
that glass was transparent ? ' ' By my eyes.* 
' What can you do with your eyes ? ' ' See.' 
* Seeing is called a sense.' * Can you obtain 
an idea of a quality except by the sense of 
sight ? ' 'Will your sight discover to you that 
a rose is odorous ? ' ' How would you ascertain 
this quality ? ' ' By what sense ? ' ' By smell- 
ing.' ' By the sense of smell.' By similar 
questions the class will gain a clear conception 
of the several sejises and their operations. They 
may next proceed to the observation of the 



A PIN. 27 

organs of sense. Thus * By what natural 
instrument are you able to see, hear?' &c. 
' By eyes, ears/ &c. Any natural instrument 
by which something is performed, is called an 
organ. * What are the eyes ? 9 ' Organs/ 
1 Organs of what sense ? ' ' Organs of sight/ &c 

It will be a useful exercise for the children to 
classify the various qualities, which they have 
observed in objects under the heads of the 
different senses by which they are discerned. 
They will soon perceive that some may be dis- 
covered by either of two senses; for example, 
fluid, solid, rough, and the varieties of form 
which may be ascertained either by sight or 
feeling ; these should constitute another division. 
Thus trained to arrange their ideas, children 
will acquire a great readiness in making use of 
their knowledge, and a facility in producing 
new combinations. 

In this series, they may also be practised in 
distinguishing and naming the parts of objects. 



LESSON I. 

A PIN. 

A pin has been chosen for the first lesson, 
because the parts are few, clearly marked, and 
simple. 



28 SECOND SERIES. — LESSON II. 

Parts. Qualities. 

The head. It is hard, 

shank. opaque, 

point. white. 

bright, 
solid- 
useful, 
smooth. 
cold. 
The head is round. 
The point is sharp. 
The shank is straight, 
taper. 



Uses.— To keep together for a time parts of 
dress, &c. 



LESSON II. 



A CUBE OF WOOD. 

The cube will convey to the children a good 
idea of a surface; they will observe that the 
outside is divided into several parts, and may- 
learn that the boundaries of a solid are called 
surfaces. 



AN UNCUT LEAD PENCIL. 29 

Parts. Qualities. 



surfaces. 


It 


is hard. 


edges. 




light. 


corners. 




solid. 

brown. 

smooth. 

dull. 

inflammable 

opaque. 


The 


surfaces i 


are flat. 



square. 
The edges are straight. 
The corners are sharp. 



LESSON III. v 

AN UNCUT LEAD PENCIL. 

From this object the children may become 
acquainted with the cylinder, for they will not 
fail to observe that the two ends are flat, and 
that the other surface is curved. 

Parts. Qualities. 

The surfaces. It is hard 

ends. odorous, 

exterior or outside. long. 



30 SECOND SERIES. — LESSON IV. 



interior 


or inside. solid. 


middle. 


opaque. 


lead. 


inflammable, 


wood. 


dry. 




brown. 




veined. 




One side is curved 




The ends are flat. 




circular. 




The form is cylindrical. 




The lead is grey. 




brittle. 




friable. 




bright. 



Uses. — For writing ; drawing, &c. Let the 
children point out on what occasion a pencil i* 
preferable to a pen, and vice versa. 



LESSON IV. 



A PEN. 



A pen presents many different parts; the 
qualities of some are also opposite to the quali- 
t others. 



A WAX CANDLE. 31 

Parts. Qualities. 



The quill, 
shaft. 


The 


quill 


is transparent, 
cylindrical. 


feather. 






hollow. 


laminae. 






bright. 


pith. 






hard. 


nib. 






elastic. 


split. 
The shoulders, 
surfaces. 


The shaft 


yellowish, 
horny, 
is opaque. 


skin. 






angular. 


groove. 






solid. 


inside. 






white. 


outside. 






stiff, 
hard. 




The 


pith 


grooved, 
is white, 
spongy, 
porous, 
elastic, 
soft. 




LESSON 


V. 


A 


l WAX 


CANDLE. 



This object recalls the idea of the cylinder, 
formed in a previous lesson, and presents the 
peculiar parts of the candle itself. 



32 SECOND SERIES — LESSON VI. 

Parts. Qualities. 



The wick. 




It is cylindrical. 


wax. 




hard. 


surfaces. 




opaque. 


ends. 




yellowish white, 


edges. 


The 


wax is sticky. 


top. 




fusible. 


bottom . 


The 


wick is inflammable. 


middle. 




tough. 


inside. 




white. 


outside. 




fibrous, 
flexible. 



Use. — To give light. 



LESSON VI. 



A CHAIR. 



This, and several of the succeeding lessons, 
are chosen on account of the great variety of the 
parts of the objects. 

Parts. 



The back, 
front, 
seat, 
top. 



A CHAIR. — A BOOK. 33 

The bottom, 
frame, 
legs, 
straw, 
edges. 

upper part of the seat, 
under part of the seat. 
bars, 
surfaces, 
corners. 

It is obvious that the qualities are not named, 
because they would depend upon the kind of 
chair chosen for the lesson. 

It is a useful exercise to compare the relative 
proportions and situations of the different parts 
of an object. Thus, in the chair, the depth 
of the seat is about one-half the height of the 
chair ; the legs are rather shorter than the back ; 
the seat is narrower at the back than the front, 
&c. The legs are perpendicular, the seat hori- 
zontal, the back slanting, the bars horizontal 
and parallel. 

LESSON VII. 

A BOOK. 

Paris. 
The outside. 

D 



34 SECOND SERIES. — LESSON VII. 

The inside, 
edges, 
corners, 
binding, 
paper, 
back, 
sides, 
top. 

bottom, 
title-page, 
preface, 
introduction, 
contents, 
end. 
leaves, 
pages, 
margin, 
beginning, 
type, 
letters, 
numbers, 
stops, 
words, 
sentences, 
syllables, 
title, 
lettering, 
stitching, 
lines. 



AN EGG. 



35 



LESSON VIII. 



AN EGG. 



Parts. 



Qualities. 



The shell. 


It is oval. 


skin. 


white. 


white. 


hard. 


yolk. 


eatable. 


interior. 


nutritious. 


exterior, 
surface. 


opaque, 
dull. 


embryo, or The shell is brittle, 
future chicken. smooth. 




thin. 




translucent. 




The white is liquid when raw. 




solid when boiled 




semi-transparent, 
adhesive. 




sticky. 




insipid. 
The yolk is yellow, 
liquid. 

soft. 




opaque, 
odorous. 




sapid. 



D 2 






36 SECOND SERIES. — LESSON IX. 

LESSON IX. 

A THIMBLE. 

Parts. Qualities. 



The inside. 


It 


is hollow 


outside. 




silver. 


top. 
bottom. 




punctured 
white. 


rim. 

border. 

punctures. 




bright, 
opaque, 
hard, 
curved. 




The inside 


is smooth. 



The outside is rough. 

Use. — To preserve the middle finger from 
being pricked in working. 



LESSON X. 

A PENKNIFE. 

Parts. Qualities. 

The handle The blade is steel. 



A PENKNIFE.— A KEY, 



37 



The blade. The blade is bright, 

plates. cold, 

grooves. hard, 

back of the handle. reflective, 

back of the blade. opaque. 



point, 
edge. 


brittle. 
The front edge is thin. 


notch, 
spring. 


sharp. 
The back edge is blunt. 


rivets. 


thick. 


pivot. 


The handle is hollow. 


heel. 


flat. 



Use. — To cut. 

The other qualities depend upon the kind of 
knife shown, 



LESSON XI. 



A KEY. 



Parts. 



Qualities. 



The ring, 
barrel, 
wards, 
grooves, 
edges. 



It is hard, 
steel, 
bright, 
cold, 
opaque. 



38 SECOND SERIES. — LESSON XII. 

The surfaces. It is smooth, 

corners. stiff. 

liable to rust. 
Part of the barrel is hollow. 

The barrel is cylindrical. 
The ring is curved. 

Places locked up by a Key. — Doors, gates, 
boxes, desks, portmanteaus, trunks, portfolios, 
tea-chests, closets, drawers, cabinets, &c. 



LESSON XII. 



A CUP. 



Parts. 



Qualities. 



The bowl. 


It 


is hollow. 


handle. 




hard. 


upper rim. 
lower rim. 
bottom. 




curved, 
glossy, 
smooth. 


inside, 
outside. 




glazed, 
cold. 


edges, 
surfaces. 




brittle. 

thin. 

useful. 




semi-transparent 
The rim is circular. 



A COFFEE BERRY, 39 

LESSON XIII. 

A COFFEE BERRY. 

Parts. Qualities. 

The surfaces. If roasted, it is brown. 



curved surfaces. 




hard. 


flat surface. 






crisp. 


groove. 






sapid. 


edge. 






aromatic, 
stimulating, 
agreeable to the 

taste, 
dull, 
solid. 




If un- 


roasted 


, dingy yellow, 
inodorous, 
disagreeable to 
the taste 



Use. — To make a beverage. 



40 



SECOND SERIES. — LESSON XIV. 



LESSON XIV. 



A PAIR OF SCISSARS. 



Parts. 



Qualities. 



The limbs. 


It is steel. 


bows. 


bright. 


blades. 


reflective, 


shanks. 


hard. 


rivets. 


opaque. 


pivot. 


cold. 


points. 


useful. 


surfaces. 


solid. 




The blades are pointed. 




One surface is flat. 




the other curved. 




The front edge sharp. 




the back blunt. 




The bows are curved. 



Uses. — The children should name the kind of 
materials which scissars will cut, and point out 
the different manner in which knives and scissars 
cut. 



THIRD SERIES. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



In this series the children may be led to the 
observation of qualities which cannot be dis- 
cerned merely by the outward senses. Thus 
by showing them at the same time wool and 
woollen cloth, and questioning them as to the 
difference of the two, they will readily form 
the ideas of natural and artificial. In this 
manner they may be led to remark the dis- 
tinction between foreign, and native, exotic 
and indigenous, animal, vegetable, mineral, &c. 

They may now be called upon to give an 
explanation of the terms they use, and assisted 
by the teacher, to trace their derivations. A few 
explanations, adapted to the capacities of chil- 
dren, are given at the end of the volume. 



42 



THIRD SERIES LESSON I. 



LESSON I. 

A QUILL. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson — 
natural, artificial, animal, vegetable, animate, 
inanimate. A pen should be shown at the same 
time with the quill ; and the children being 
questioned as to what constitutes the essential 
difference between the two, will understand the 
terms natural and artificial. If some fruits or 
flowers be placed by the quill, their attention 
may be directed to the distinction between 
animal and vegetable substances. The com- 
parison of the quill with an insect, will elicit 
the ideas of animate and inanimate. 



Parts. 



Qualities. 



The quill. 


It 


is long. 


shaft. 




stiff. 


ends. 




useful. 


feather. 




natural. 


laminae. 




inanimate. 


inside. 




animalproduction 


outside. 


The barrel 


is transparent. 


edges. 




hard. 


groove. 




elastic. 


surfaces. 




bright. 



A QUILL. 43 

The pith The barrel is yellowish, 

skin. cyl&dricaL 

. hollow, 
light. 
The shaft is feathered, 
white, 
stiff, 
hard, 
opaque, 
solid, 
angular, 
grooved. 

Children may be led to remark the difference 
which fire produces on animal and vegetable 
substances both in appearance and smell. 

The Teacher now requires the class to give 
an explanation in their own words, of the terms 
they have used : and also helps them to trace 
the derivation of words, and to mark the force 
of particular syllables. 1 

Teacher. Give me examples of words of 
the same termination as, JJseful. 

Children. Careful, &c. 

Teacher. What is the force of the termi- 
nation ? 

Children. It expresses the quality in a 
great degree. 

1 The radical or invariable part of the word is printed 
in Roman characters, the termination in Italics, 



44 THIRD SERIES. — LESSON II. 

Teacher. What is the opposite of useful ? 

Children. Use less. 

Teacher. Give examples of words, of the 
same termination as use less. 

Teacher. From what is natural derived ? 

Children. Nature. 

Teacher. From what is ' inanimate ' derived ? 

Children. From in which has the sense 
of not, and animate. 

Teacher. Animate is derived from anim a, 1 
a latin word, which signifies life. Transparent 
is derived from trans, through, and parens 
appearing. Give other words derived from 
par ens, appearing. 

Children. Apparent, Apparition. 

Teacher. From what is cylindr ical derived ? 

Children. From cylinder. 

Teacher. Cylinder is derived from the Greek 
kv'mvIc* (kylindo) i roll. 



LESSON II. 

A HALFPENNY. 

Ideas to be developed in this lesson — mineral, 
metallic. 

Parts. Qualities. 

The surfaces. It is round, 

edges. flat. 

1 The derivations should be written upon the slate, and 
read over several times by the children. 





A 


HALFPENNY 


4 


e milling. 




It is 


mineral 


impression. 






metallic. 


image. 






opaque. 


superscription 




bright. 


reverse. 






copper. 


date. 






cold. 

reddish brown 

fusible. 

hard . 

odorous. 

artificial. 1 

heavy. 

durable. 

uneven. 



Made from copper ore, which contains sulphur 
in union with copper ; the sulphur forced off by 
smelting. Stampt by a die which is caused to 
fall upon the coin with great violence. 



Remarks on Words. 



Mine ral, is derived from Mine. 

Metal lie, Metal. 

Fus ible, To fuse. 

Artific ial, Art e, by art. 

fac ere, to make. 
Dur able, Dur are, to last. 

1 The class should be led to remark, that though the 
workmanship is artificial, the substance is natural. 



46 THIRD SERIES. — LESSON III. 

Teacher. Do you know any other words 
derived from dur are ? 

Children. Duration, during, endure. 



LESSON III. 

MUSTARD SEED. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, indigen- 
ous, pulverable. 

Qualities. 

It is pungent, 
dull, 
yellow, 
opaque, 
hard, 
dry. 

pulverable. 
natural, 
indigenous, 
vegetable, 
spherical, 
solid, 
stimulating. 



AN APPLE. 



47 



Remarks on Words. 

Vxmgent, is derived from, Pung ere, to prick. 

Pulv er able Pulv is, dust. 

Indigen ous, Indigen, a native, or 

produced in 
a country. 



LESSON IV. 



AN APPLE. 



Parts. 



Qualities. 



The eye. 
core. 


It 


is spherical, 
bright. 


pips, 
peel, 
pulp, 
juice. 




odorous, 
coloured, 
opaque, 
natural. 


stalk. 




vegetable. 


surface, 
inside. 




hard. 


ontside. 




nice, 
solid. 




The eye 


pleasant, 
is dry. 
brown, 
shrivelled 



48 THIRD SERIES. — LESSON IV. 

The pips are brown on the outside 
when ripe, 
white in the inside, 
pointed oval, 
hard, 
bright. 
The core is membranaceous, 
stiff, 
yellow, 
hard, 
semi-transparent. 

Remarks on Words. 

Spher ical, is derived from Sphere. 

Teacher. Give instances of similar termi- 
nations. 

Children. Cylindr ical, crit ical, con ical. 

Odor ons, is derived from odor, scent. 

Teacher. Give instances of similar termi- 
nations. 

Children. Indigen ous, nutritions. 

Vegetable, is derived from veget are, to grow- 
as a plant. 

Teacher. Name other words derived from 
this. 

Children. To vegetate, vegetation. 

Juicy, is derived from Juice. 

Teacher. Give some other instances in 
which the names of qualities are derived from 
those of substances in a similar manner. 



GLASS OF A WATCH. 49 

Children. Stone, stony; milk, milk y -, 
water, water y. 

Semi-transparent, is derived from Semi, trans, 
through, and parens, ap pear ing. 

Teacher. What is the meaning of semi ? 

Children. Half. 



LESSON V. 



GLASS OF A WATCH. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, concave 
and convex. 

Parts. 1 Qualities. 

It is artificial, 
transparent, 
brittle, 
bright, 
thin, 
hard, 
clear, 
cold, 
curved, 
useful. 

1 The children should be asked whether there are any 
parts to this object peculiar to it ; and as there are not, 
the consideration of the parts had better be omitted. 
E 



50 THIRD SERIES.-— LESSON VI. 

The upper surface is convex. 
The under surface concave. 
The edge circular. 

Uses. — To preserve the hands of the watch 
from being injured, and to keep the works 
from dust. 



LESSON VI. 

BROWN SUGAR. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, foreign, 
imported. 

Qualities. 

It is brown, 
granulous. 
sweet, 
soluble, 
fusible, 
opaque, 
useful. 

vegetable substance, 
artificial, 
foreign, 
sticky, 
imported, 
moist. 



AN ACORN. 51 

Use. — To sweeten our food. 
Obtained from the Sugar Cane, which is 
cultivated in the East and West Indies. 

Remarks on Words. 

Granul ous, is derived from Granul urn, a small 

grain. 

Import ed, port are, to carry, 

in, into. 

Export ed, Ex, out, and port are. 

Solu ble, Solv ere, to loosen, 

because the particles may be loosened 
from each other by liquids. 

LESSON VII. 

AN ACORN. 

Parts. Qualities. 



The cup. 


It is vegetable 


berry. 


inanimate, 


nut. 


natural. 


point of the nut. 


hard. 


scar. 


green. 


scales. 


opaque. 


inside. 


The nut is oval. 


outside. 


bright. 


surfaces. 


solid. 




E 2 



52 THIRD SERIES. — LESSON VIII. 

The edges. The cup is dull. 

The inside is concave, 
smooth. 
The outside is rough. 

brownish, 
scaly. 
The edge is circular. 






LESSON VIII. 



A PIECE OF HONEYCOMB. 



Parts. 



Qualities. 



The cells. 


It 


is natural. 


divisions. 




animal production 


edges. 




light. 


base of cells. 




fusible. 


corners. 




sticky. 

dull. 

semi-transparent. 

yellowish. 

thin. 

compressible. 

brittle. 


The eel 


Is are hexagonal, 
regular. 






hollow. 



REFINED SUGAR. 



53 



LESSON IX, 



REFINED SUGAR. 



Ideas to be developed by this lesson are crys- 
talline, amorphous. 



Parts. 



Qualities. 



surface. 


It is white. 


edges. 


sweet. 


middle. 

crystals. 

grains. 


sparkling. 

crystalline. 

solid. 


pores. 


fusible, 
soluble. 




shapeless or amorphous 
hard. 




refined. 




nutritious. 




useful. 




friable. 




opaque, 
artificial. 




vegetable. 




brittle. 



54 THIRD SERIES,— LESSON X. 

Brought from the East and West Indies in its 
raw state. Refined by sugar-bakers, and sold 
by grocers in loaves of a conical form. 

Remarks on Words. 

Crystal line, is derived from, Crystal. 

Amorph ous, a (a) not, po^ty 77. 

(morphe) shape. 
Nutri tious, nutri re, to nourish. 



LESSON X. 

A CORK. 

Ideas to be developed by this lesson, com- 
pressible, meagre to the touch. 

Parts. Qualities. 



The ends. 


It is light. 


surfaces. 


elastic. 


edged. 


compressible. 


middle. 


opaque. 




dry. 




meagre to the touch. 




light brown. 




solid. 




porous. 




smooth. 



GLUE. 55 



It is cylindrical, 
dull. 

inflammable, 
vegetable. 
The form is artificial. 
The substance is natural. 



LESSON XI. 

GLUE. 

Qualities of Glue. 

It is translucent. 

mahogany brown, 
hard, 
bright, 
solid. 

animal substance, 
artificial. 
When melted it is tough. 

adhesive, 
sticky, 
elastic, 
tenacious. 

Remarks on Words. 

Ten acious, is derived from, Ten ax, holding. 

Adhes ive, , . ,'. ad, to ; and hasr ere, 

to stick, 
(perfect, haesi.) 



56 THIRD SERIES. — LESSONS XII. XIII. 

LESSON XII. 

PACKTHREAD. 

Qualities of Packthread. 

It is dry. 
dull, 
twisted, 
flexible, 
tough, 
opaque, 
fibrous, 
artificial, 
durable, 
light brown, 
vegetable, 
inflammable, 
soft, 
slender, 
solid, 
rough. 

LESSON XIII. 

HONEY. 

Qualities of Honey. 
It is sweet. 



BUTTER-CUP. 57 

It is fluid, 
thick, 
liquid, 
yellow, 
bright, 
sticky. 

vegetable substance, 
natural, 
nourishing, 
healing, 
opaque. 



LESSON XIV. 

BUTTER-CUP. 

Parts. Qualities, 

The petals. It is vegetable, 

margins or edges. inanimate. 



cup. concave. 

leafits of cup. natural. 

stamens. odorous. 

pistils. The petals are yellow. 

stalk. glossy in the inside, 

place of insertion. dull on the outside. 

inside. circular. 

outside. pointed at the place 

surfaces. of insertion. 



58 



THIRD SERIES.— LESSON XV, 





The petals are striped. 






opaque 






pliable. 




The leafits 


are greenish, 
thin. 

membranaceous, 
semi-transparent 
pointed. 




The stalk is green. 






grooved. 






angular. 






stiff. 






fibrous. 




LESSON XV. 




LADY- 


BIRD. 


Parts. 




Qualities. 


head. 




It is animate. 


eyes. 




natural. 


feelers 


or palpi. 


hemispherical 


horns or antenna?. 


The elytra are red. 


wings. 




spotted. 


wing cases or elytra. 


bright. 


thorax. 




hard. 


legs. 




brittle. 


body. 




opaque. 


back. 




stiff. 



!l 


AN OYSTER, 5£ 


jfThe spots. 


The outside is convex. 


surfaces. 


the inside is concave. 


margin. 


one margin straight. 


claws. 


the other curved. 




The wings are membranaceous 




pliable, 
thin. 




transparent, 
fragile. 




The body is oval, 
black. 




The legs are jointed. 




short. 




black. 




LESSON XVI. 




AN OYSTER. 



Par 



Qualities. 



?he valves. 


I 


t is animal. 


hinge, 
outside. 




opaque, 
marine. 


inside. 




natural. 


margin. 


The valves 


are circular 


impressions, 
mollusca. 




hard, 
stiff. 


scales or laminae . 


pulvera 



60 THIRD SERIES—LESSON XVI. 

The outside is rough. 

scaly or laminated, 
irregular, 
dull 

dingy brown, 
uneven. 
The inside is pearly, 
bright, 
smooth. 

slightly concave, 
irridescent. 
cold. 
The mollusca is soft. ' 

eatible. 
nutritious, 
cold, 
smooth, 
lubricious. 

Remarks on Words. 

Mar ine, is derived from, Mar e, sea. 

Lamin ated, Lamin a, a plate. 

Irid escent, Irid escere, to become 

like a rainbow. 
Lub ricious, Lub ricus, slippery. 



A FIR CONE. 61 



LESSON XVII. 



A FIR CONE. 



Parts. Qualities. 



The scales. It 


is brown. 


seeds. 

top. 

place of insertion. 

fibres. 


opaque, 
hard, 
vegetable, 
natural. 


outside. 


conical. 


inside. 


tiled or imbricated. 


surfaces. 


inflammable. 


stalk. 


odorous. 


The scales are rigid. 




dull. 


The outside is lig 


h thrown. 




pointed at the top. 




rough. 




irregularly pyramid- 
ical. 


The inside of scales 


is chesnut-colour. 




shaded. 




keeled. 



62 THIRD SERIES. — LESSON XVIII. 



Remarks on Words. 



Irnbric ated is derived from, Imbric are, toj 

cover with tiles. 1 



I 



LESSON XVIII. 



FUR. 



Parts. Qualities.. 



The skin. 


It is animal. 


hair. 


hairy. 


surface. 


inanimat< 


points of hair. 


The hairs are flexible. 




slender. 




soft. 




tubular. 




straight. 




pointed. 




The skin is stiff. 






The colour and other peculiarities, to be 
decided by the specimen presented. 



A LAUREL LEAF. 



63 



LESSON XIX. 



A LAUREL LEAF, 



Parts. 



Qualities, 



The upper surface 
under surface. 
edge or margin, 
point or termination. 
veins. 
middle rib. 
base, 
stalk. 



It is oval, 
smooth, 
pointed, 
vegetable, 
odorous, 
opaque, 
bitter, 
stiff, 
long. 
The rib is straight. 

raised, or keeled 

on the under side. 
grooved on the 
upper side, 
The veins are curved. 
The margin is curved. 

slightly toothed, 
The upper surface is bright. 
The under surface is dull. 



64 THIRD SERIES.— LESSON XX. 



LESSON XX. 



A NEEDLE. 



Parts. Qualities. 



The eye. 


It is a mineral. 


shank. 


metallic. 


point. 

middle. 

top. 


artificial, 
opaque, 
bright, 
cold. 


* 


taper. 

pointed. 

slender 


V- 


useful. 




fusible. 




grey or steel colour. 




hard. 




brittle. 




solid. 




steel. 



Made of steel, which is a preparation of iron 
having been subject to great extremes of heat 
and cold. 



A STONE. 65 



LESSON XXI. 

A STONE. 

Idea to be developed by this lesson, 
inorg a nized. 

To give the class an idea of organized and 
unorganized, a plant might be shewn with the 
stone ; and questions given, such as the follow- 
ing. 

Teacher. If I put these two into the earth, 
and visit them in a month, what great difference 
might I expect to perceive in them ? 

Children. The plant will have grown ; the 
stone will have remained the same size. 

Teacher. How did the plant increase? 

Children. It absorbed moisture. 

Teacher. By what means ? 

Children. Through its roots and pores. 

Teacher. Did this nourish only the roots? 

Children. No. 

Teacher. You are right ; the sap was pro- 
duced which circulated through the plant by 
means of vessels. You remember why we call 
the eyes, ears, &c. organs ? 

Children. They are natural instruments by 
which something is effected. 

Teacher. What would you therefore call 
the pores, vessels, &c. of vegetables ? 

F 



66 THIRD SERIES.— LESSON XXI. 

Children. They are organs. 

Teacher. A body possessing organs is called 
organized. Name some organized bodies. 

Children. A tree, an insect. 

Teacher. What syllable, placed before a 
word, expresses the absence of a quality ? 

Children. In. 

Teacher. What would you call a body 
which is destitute of organs ? 

Children. Inorganized. 

Teacher. Mention some inorganized sub- 
stances. 

Children. Earth, water. 

Qualities of Stone. 

It is hard, 
cold. 

inorganized. 
opaque, 
mineral, 
solid, 
natural. 

shapeless or amorphous, 
inanimate. 

Remarks on Words. 

In organ ized is derived from Greek opyav ov, 
(organon) an instrument. 



FOURTH SERIES. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

The chief aim proposed in this series is, to 
exercise the children in arranging and classifying 
objects ; thus developing a higher faculty than 
that of simply observing their qualities. The 
complex operation of connecting things by their 
points of resemblance, and at the same time 
of distinguishing them individually by their 
points of dissimilarity, is one of the highest 
exercises of our reason ; yet it may be carried 
on in children at a much earlier period than is 
usually imagined, if they are trained to arrange 
their ideas. With this view the spices have 
been chosen as forming a connected series of 
objects. The metals, liquids, different kinds of 
wood, grains, &c. are good subjects for similar 
lessons. 



08 FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON I. 

SPICES. 

LESSON I. 

PEPPER. 

Qualities of Pepper. 

It is hard. 

vegetable. 

foreign. 1 
It is a tropical production. 

wrinkled. 

spherical. 

rough. 

black. 

conservative. 

dry. 

dull. 



1 Teacher. If it comes from a foreign country, how 
do we get it ? 

Children. It comes in a ship. 

Teacher. This is called importing ; and sending out 
of our own country is called exporting. What do we call 
this exchange of productions ? 

Children. Trade or commerce. 

Teacher. And what are the people called who carry 
it on ? 

Children. Merchants, 









PEPPER. 69 

It is sapid, 
pungent, 
odorous, 
aromatic, 
medicinal, 
wholesome, 
useful, 
stimulating. 

The pepper plant is a creeping shrub, much 
resembling the vine, and is often called the 
pepper-vine. It is generally planted near some 
thorny bush, among the branches of which it 
entwines itself like ivy. It produces berries 
in clusters : if the fruit be intended for black 
pepper, it is not allowed to ripen, but is col- 
lected whilst green, and rubbed by the hands 
or feet, till the seeds, several of which are con- 
tained in each berry, are separated. These are 
exposed on mats to the rays of the sun during 
the day, and are collected at night in jars, to 
preserve them from the dew. When the berries 
are intended to be converted into white pepper, 
they are allowed to ripen, and they then become 
red. They are rubbed in a basket, the pulp is 
removed by washing, and the seeds, which are 
white, are dried. 



70 FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON II. 



LESSON II. 

NUTMEG. 

Qualities. 

It is sapid, 
hard, 
oval. 

dingy brown, 
dull, 
opaque. 
dry. 
Surface uneven. 
It is vegetable, 
natural, 
inanimate, 
foreign. 

tropical production, 
pungent, 
conservative, 
pulverable. 
agreeable to the taste, 
aromatic, 
odorous. 

The nutmeg is the kernel of a fruit, which is 
the produce of a tree resembling our cherry-tree, 
both in size and growth. It is found in the 



NUTMEG. 71 

East Indies. The external covering of the fruit 
is a husk : this opens when ripe and displays 
a thin scarlet membrane, called mace : this 
being carefully removed, there still remains a 
woody shell which surrounds the nutmeg. The 
nuts are first dried in the sun, and then placed 
on a frame of bamboos over a slow fire, until 
the kernels, on being shaken, rattle in their 
shells. 

Remarks on Words. 

" Odorous, 3 ' "aromatic." 

Teacher. Why is nutmeg said to be 
odorous ? 

Children. Because it has a smell. 

Teacher. Why aromatic ? 

Children. Because it has that pungent 
smell distinguished by the name aromatic. 

Teacher. Are all things that are aromatic 
also odorous ? 

Children. Yes. 

Teacher. Are all things that are odorous 
also aromatic ? 

Children. No. 

Teacher. Is an onion odorous ? 

Children. Yes. 

Teacher. Is a rose odorous ? 

Children. Yes. 

Teacher. Are these smells alike? 



72 fourth series.— lesson iii. 

Children. No. 

Teacher. Does, the term odorous include 
every kind of smell ? 

Children. Yes. 

Teacher. A term which includes all the 
varieties of one kind of quality or substance, is 
called a generic term, whilst that which marks 
one of the species is called a specific term. 
Odorous is a generic term, because it includes 
every kind of smell ; aromatic is a specific term, 
because it applies only to one particular smell. 

Give examples of generic terms, and of a 
specific term applicable to each of them. 

Children. Odorous, fragrant; coloured, 
red ; foreign, Chinese productions. 

The class should determine in succeeding les- 
sons, what terms are generic and what specific. 



LESSON III. 



MACF. 






Qualities. 



It is pungent. 

agreeable to the taste. 

aromatic. 

orange red. 

dull. 



MACE. 73 

It is opaque, 
thin, 
fibrous, 
brittle, 
foreign, 
tropical, 
natural, 
inflammable, 
medicinal, 
dry. 

pulverable. 
membranaceous, 
conservative, 
imported, 
sapid, 
stimulating. 

Mace is the covering between the shell of the 
nutmeg and its external husk. 

Remarks on Words. 

Teacher. " Foreign." — Should you call 
mace a foreign production, if you were in the 
place were it grows ? 

Children. No. 

Teacher. Should you call it pungent and 
aromatic, if you were there? 

Children. Yes. 

Teacher. Can it be mace without being 
foreign ? 

Children. Yes. 



74 FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON IV. 

Teacher. Can it be mace without being 
pungent and aromatic ? 

Children. No. 

Those qualities which determine any thing 
to be what it is, are called essential, from the 
Latin esse, to be. 

Qualities which are not essential are called 
accidental, from the Latin accidens, happening. 

What qualities of mace are essential ? 

What qualities of mace are accidental 



•-> 



LESSON IV. 

CINNAMON. 

Qualities. 

It is light brown, and gives name to a colour, 
thin, 
brittle, 
conservative, 
aromatic, 
pungent. 

agreeable to the taste, 
opaque, 
hard, 
sweet. 

inflammable. 
dry. 






CINNAMON. 75 

It is vegetable, 
natural, 
foreign, 
inanimate, 
light. 

pulverable. 
medicinal, 
stimulating, 
flaky. 



Cinnamon is the inner bark of the branches of 
a kind of laurel tree, growing in Ceylon and 
Malabar. The branches of three years old are 
selected as furnishing the best cinnamon : the 
outside bark is scraped off ; the branches are 
then ripped up lengthways with a knife, and the 
inner bark is gradually loosened, till it can be 
entirely taken off. Exposure to the sun causes 
it to curl up. The pieces of bark so curled are 
called quills, and the smaller ones are inserted 
into the larger. 

Remarks on Words. 

Inflam mable, is derived from, flam ma, a flame. 
Medicin al, Medicine. 



7G FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON V 

LESSON V. 

GINGER. 

Qualities. 

It is fibrous, 
knotty, 
sapid, 
rough, 
jagged, 
inanimate, 
vegetable, 
tropical, 
foreign, 
aromatic, 
pungent, 
dry. 
dull, 
solid, 
hard. 

conservative, 
light. 

yellowish brown, 
pulverable. 
medicinal, 
stimulating, 
wholesome, 
opaque. 
inflammable. 



ALLSPICE. 



77 



| Ginger is the root of a plant resembling a 
jreed, which grows both in the East and West 
I Indies. The root does not strike to a consider- 
able depth in the earth, but spreads wide. 
When first dug up it is soft, and eaten by the 
Indians as a salad. If intended for exportation, 
it is placed in bundles, and dried in the sun. 



LESSON VI. 


ALLSPICE. 




Parts. 


Qualitie 


The inside. It 


is aromatic. 


outside. 


odorous. 


skin. 


pungent. 


seeds. 


spherical. 


partition of seed-vessel. 


brown. 


point of insertion. 


speckled. 




organized. 




natural. 




vegetable. 




inanimate. 




dry. 




opaque. 




tropical. 




imported. 




dull. 



78 FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON VII. 

It is stimulating, 
hard. 

inflammable, 
friable, 
sapid, 
wrinkled, 
conservative. 

Allspice or Pimento is the dried berry of a 
species of a myrtle, indigenous in the West 
Indies ; it is a most beautiful and fragrant tree, 
producing numerous bunches of white flowers, 
to which succeed the berries ; these are gathered 
by the hand and spread out in the sun to dry. 
In this operation they lose their former colour, 
and become brown. When the seeds rattle in 
the shell, they are known to be sufficiently dry, 
and are packed in bags for exportation. The 
flavour of pimento is considered to unite that 
of the other spices : hence the name of Allspice. 



LESSON VII. 

A CLOVE. 

Parts. Qualities. 

The calyx or cup. It is aromatic, 

tube. odorous, 

leafits of cup pungent. 



A CLOVE. 79 

The points of leafits. It is brown, 

bud. organized, 

surfaces. natural, 

edges. vegetable, 

inanimate. 
dry. 
opaque, 
tropical, 
imported, 
dull. 

stimulating, 
hard. 

inflammable, 
conservative. 
The bud is spherical. 
The tube is long. 
The leafits are pointed. 

Cloves are the unexpanded flower-buds and 
calyx of a species of laurel which grows in the 
West Indies. At a certain season of the year, 
the clove tree produces a profusion of flowers in 
clusters ; they are gathered before the flower 
opens, when the four points of the calyx project, 
and the petals are folded one over the other, 
forming a bud about the size of a pea. After 
they are gathered, they are exposed for some 
time to the smoke of a wood fire, and then to 
the rays of the sun. 

At the conclusion of the lesson on Spices, the 



HO FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON VII. 

children should be called upon to mention those 
qualities which they had found common to all ; 
as aromatic, pungent, dry, tropical, stimulating, 
vegetable. Then let some other similar sub- 
stance be presented to them, as mustard. 

Teacher. Is this a spice ? 

Children. No. 

Teacher. Why not ? 

Children. It has not the qualities of a spice. 

Teacher. If I shewed you a substance with 
which you were not previously acquainted, and 
you found that it possessed the essential qualities 
of the spices you have examined, what would 
you consider it to be ? 

Children. A spice. 

Teacher. To what then do you apply the 
term spice ? 

Children. To a set of natural productions 
possessing certain qualities. 

Teacher. When a number of things are 
arranged together, each having similar qualities 
what would you call the collection ? What 
would you call a number of boys who are placed 
together because they are nearly equal in know- 
ledge ? 

Children. A class. 

Teacher. What then would you call a collec- 
tion of substances that possess the same qualities ? 

Children. A class. 

Teacher. What may you call all substances 
which are aromatic, pungent, tropical, &c. 



THE SPICES. 81 

Children. A class. 

Teacher. And what is the name of that 
class ? 

Children. Spice. 

Teacher. What then does the term spice 
express. 

Children. A class of substances, possess- 
ing the qualities aromatic, pungent, &c. 

Teacher. Tell me all the substances be- 
longing to that class ? 

Children. Pepper, nutmeg, mace, cinna- 
mon, ginger, allspice, cloves. 

Teacher. Are all the substances of this 
class alike in all respects ? 

Children. No. 

Teacher. How can you tell one spice from 
another ? 

Children. Because each has some qualities 
peculiar to itself. 

Teacher. Name the particular circumstance 
which distinguishes each. 

Children. Ginger is a root; pepper is a 
seed ; nutmeg is a kernel ; mace is the membra- 
naceous covering of that kernel ; cinnamon is a 
bark ; pimento is a seed-vessel ; the clove is a 
cup and flower bud. 



82 FOURTH SERIES.— LESSON VIII. 

ON LIQUIDS. 
LESSON VIII. 

WATER. 

Qualities of Water. 

It is fluid. 

transparent. 

clear. 

colourless. 

liquid. 

useful. 

bright. 

incompressible except by immense power. 

reflective. 

drinkable. 

wholesome. 

tasteless. 

cold. 

inodorous. 

natural. 

solvent. 

refreshing. 

inanimate. 

penetrating. 

purifying. 



WATER. 8S 

It is cooling, 
fertilizing, 
heavy. 
Some waters are medicinal. 

Different kinds of Water, 
Rain, 
spring, 
sea, or salt, 
river, 
medicinal, 
hot spring, 
stagnant. 

Different states of Water. 

Ice. 

snow. 

hail. 

rain. 

mist. 

fog. 

cloud. 

vapour. 

dew. 

steam. 

Natural collections of Water. 

Oceans. 
seas. 
lakes. 
G 2 



84 FOURTH SERIES LESSON VIII. 

rivers, 
ponds, 
springs. 

Operations of Water. — It purifies, evaporates, 
freezes, quenches thirst, cools, finds its own 
level, penetrates, fertilizes, is a solvent, extin- 
guishes fire, separates easily into portions which 
assume a spherical form. 

Teacher. You find the particles of water 
run about ; will the particles of wood do the 
same ? 

Children. No. 

Teacher. Why will not the particles of 
wood flow about ? 

Children. Because they stick close to- 
gether. 

Teacher. This is called cohering. You 
remember what adhesive is derived from. 

Children. From ad to, and hasr ere to stick. 

Teacher. Cohere is derived from cohasrere, 
to stick together. When one substance is joined 
to another, it is said to adhere (or stick to : ) 
when the particles of the same substance stick 
together, they are said to cohere. 

The particles of a liquid cohere very slightly, 
and are therefore easily separated. The parti- 
cles of a solid cohere closely. 



oil. 85 

LESSON IX. 

OIL. 

Qualities of Oil. 

It is fluid. 

yellowish, 
semi-transparent, 
soft. 
liquid, 
penetrating, 
emollient, 
greasy, 
useful, 
light, 
thick. 

inflammable, 
oleaginous. 
Some oils are vegetable. 
Some are animal. 
When bad, it is rancid, 
odorous. 

The vegetable oil is expressed from olives, 
and is imported chiefly from Italy and the South 
of France. It is also obtained from nuts and 
some other fruits, and from seeds. 

The animal oil is procured from the blubber 
or fat of the whale and seal. 

Birds are furnished with little bags containing 



Sf> FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON X. 

oil ; with this they plume their feathers, and it 
causes rain and moisture to trickle off. With- 
out this provision, the feathers of water-fowl 
would imbibe so much moisture, as to render 
them too heavy for floating on the water. 

LESSON X. 

BEER. 

Qualities. 

It is liquid, 
fluid. 

orange-colour, 
wholesome, 
fermented, 
artificial, 
useful, 
odorous. 

semi-transparent, 
slightly intoxicating, 
strengthening. 

liter is composed of malt, hops, and water 
foiled together. Hops are the blossoms of a 
creeping plant, very much cultivated in Kent: 
flic place where they grow is called a hop-yard. 
The tub in which the malt is first steeped is 
(ailed a mashiny-tub ; that which holds the beer 
when made, a vat. 

Malt is made of barley, by the following 



FOREIGN WHITE WINE. 87 

j process. A quantity of barley is soaked in 
water for two or three days; the water being 

j afterwards drained off, the grain heats sponta- 
neously, swells, bursts, becomes sweet, and 

| ferments. Vegetables during decomposition, 
undergo several degrees of fermentation ; 
the first, ( that above described ) is call- 
ed the saccharine fermentation, from the 
sweetness it produces ; sacchar um, being the 
latin word for sugar. In consequence of this 
decomposition, which is similar to that which 
takes place in seed in the ground, the barley 
begins to sprout, but this vegetation is stopped 
by putting it into a kiln, where it is well dried 
by a gentle heat. 



LESSON XL 

FOREIGN WHITE WINE. 

Qualities. 

It is yellowish, 
bright, 
fluid, 
liquid, 
fermented, 
spirituous, 
intoxicating, 
heating, 
vegetable. 



88 FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON XII. 

It is artificial. 

semi-transparent. 

sapid. 

medicinal. 

stimulating. 

clear. 

strengthening. 

yielding to the touch. 

Wine is made from the grape, the fruit of the 
vine, which is cultivated in vineyards. The 
season of its gathering is called the vintage. 
The grapes, when gathered, are placed in a 
ivine-press, by which the juice is expressed ; 
this juice undergoes a fermentation, and becomes 
wine. This is the second fermentation which 
vegetable matter undergoes : it is called the 
vinous fermentation, from its producing wine ; 
vinum being the latin word for wine. 

LESSON XII. 

VINEGAR. 

Qualities. 

It is acid. 

orange-brown colour. 

liquid. 

fluid. 

yielding to the touch. 



INK. 89 

It is penetrating, 
stimulating, 
vegetable. 
artificial, 
medicinal, 
odorous, 
useful. 

conservative, 
semi-transparent. 

Uses. — To flavour food ; for pickling ; for 
medicine. 

It is called Vinegar, from the French Vinaigre, 

Vin, wine, — aigre, sour; because it is frequently 

procured from wine. The fermentation by which 

this acidity is produced, is called the acetous 

fermentation, from Lat. acetum, vinegar. 



LESSON XIII. 

INK. 

Qualities. 

It is black, 
bright, 
useful, 
opaque, 
artificial, 
liquid. 



00 FOURTH SERIES. — LESSON XIV. 

It is astringent, 
fluid. 

yielding to the touch, 
poisonous. 

Ink is made of galls, gum, sulphate of iron, 
and water. Galls are found upon the oak : 
they are occasioned by a little insect, which 
pierces the bark of the tree, and lays its eggs 
in the hole which it has formed. The torn 
vessels of the tree discharge a portion of their 
contents, this hardening, forms at first a 
defence for the eggs, and subsequently food for 
the caterpillars they produce. These latter eat 
their way out of their confinement, before they 
change into the perfect insect. Iron dissolved 
in sulphuric acid, is called sulphate of iron, when 
this is applied to the acid of the galls, it becomes 
black, upon which quality the utility of ink 
depends. A little gum is added, to cause the 
ink to adhere to the paper. 

LESSON XIV. 

MILK. 

Qualities. 

It is white, 
fluid, 
liquid. 



MILK. 91 

It it wholesome. 

nice. 
An animal substance, 
natural, 
opaque, 
soft, 
smooth. 

yielding to the touch, 
emollient. 
When fresh it is warm. 

nutritious. 

Uses. — For animals to feed their young ; for 
making cheese, butter ; to drink. 

The milk of cows is that most generally used 
by man. Invalids drink the milk of asses. 
In Tartary the milk of mares is used ; in Switzer- 
land that of goats; in the northern countries 
that of rein-deer ; in Arabia that of camels. 

The Teacher would find it a very improving 
and interesting exercise, to take two substances 
and compare them together, — as water and milk, 
requiring the class to find out in what respects 
they are both alike. They are both fluid, liquid, 
cold, incompressible, penetrating, natural, &c. 
The qualities by which they are distinguished 
from each other should then be mentioned. The 
water is transparent, the milk is opaque ; the 
water is colourless, the milk is white ; the water 
is tasteless, the milk is sweet, &c. 



02 FOURTH SERIES — LESSON XIV. 

Liquids possess qualities by which they are 
very clearly distinguished from other substances. 
They may all become solid, they are all fluid, 
and incompressible : their parts easily separate, 
forming* into spheres or drops ; they penetrate 
into the pores of substances ; and they rind their 
own level. This last circumstance can easily 
be proved to the pupils by means of a syphon. 
Having named the properties common to all 
liquids, the class should also be required to 
mention the qualities jieculiar to each, as in the 
lesson on spices. 

Water is transparent, colourless, tasteless, 
inodorous, bright. 

Oil is yellowish, thick, emollient, semi-trans- 
parent, greasy, inflammable. 

Beer is orange-coloured, bitter, spirituous, 
artificial, fermented. 

White Wine is bright, yellowish, intoxicating, 
stimulating, fermented. 

Vinegar is acid, orange-coloured, semi- 
transparent. 

Ink is black, bright, opaque, artificial. 

Milk is white, opaque, sweet, nourishing, 
natural. 



FIFTH SERIES. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

These lessons are intended as a first exercise in 
composition. The object should be presented 
to the children, and they should continue, as 
before, to make their own observations upon it. 
Questions should then be addressed to them, 
calculated to elicit their knowledge of its natural 
history, and further particulars should after- 
wards be communicated by the teacher, to 
render their information more complete. After 
having re-arranged and repeated the materials 
so obtained, the teacher should examine the 
class, and require a written account. Children, 
from eight to ten years of age, have derived 
great improvement from this exercise in com- 
position. It stimulates their attention, furnishes 
a test of their having well understood the lesson, 
and leads them to arrange and express their 
ideas with clearness and facility. Artificial sub- 
stances should be exhibited both in their raw 
and manufactured state. Thus, in the lesson on 
flax, the plant itself, the fibres when separated 
from the stem, the thread when spun, and the 



94 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON I. 

various articles into which it is manufactured, 
may be brought before the class and likewise 
pictures of the machinery employed in the 
manufacturer. 

Many of the lessons in the following series 
will contain too much matter to be presented 
at one time to the pupils, and must therefore 
be divided. 



LESSON I. 

CAMPHOR. 

Camphor is the peculiar juice of a species of 
laurel called the camphor tree, which is abundant 
in China, Borneo, and Ceylon. Exposure to 
the air hardens it. It is remarkably inflammable 
and is used by the Indian princes to illuminate 
their rooms. It is pungent, volatile, acrid, and 
strongly aromatic. These qualities have rendered 
it useful as a medicine, and in sick rooms to 
prevent contagion. It is also placed in cabinets 
of natural history to destroy the small insects 
that prey upon the specimens. 



WAX CANDLE.— PUTTY. 95 



LESSON II. 

WAX CANDLE. 

Wax is the produce of bees : it is a substance 
which is secreted in their bodies, and of which 
they construct their cells. When the honey is 
taken out of the comb, the latter is melted, and 
afterwards bleached by exposure to the air. 
The wax in a liquid state is poured into leaden 
moulds, in the centre of which the wick has 
been previously fixed. The wick is made of 
cotton or flax, and when lighted, the melted 
wax rises up its fibres and feeds the flame. 



LESSON III. 

PUTTY. 

Putty is a soft unctuous substance which 
hardens by exposure to the air, and is used by 
Glaziers to fasten the panes of glass to the 
window frames. It is composed of linseed oil 
and whiting, sometimes with the addition of 
white lead. The whiting is prepared from chalk 
ground into a fine powder ; and the oil and 



0(J FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON IV. 

white lead are worked into it, till all the sub- | 
stances are thoroughly mixed together. Linseed 
oil is extracted from the seed of the flax ; which 
in latin is called lin um. 



LESSON IV. 



SHELL LAC. 

Shell lac is a substance produced by a little 
insect called Coccus Lacca, and is deposited on 
the small branches of the Indian fig tree, for 
the protection of its eggs. It discharges the 
gum from its own body, and forms it into cells, 
in each of which is placed an egg. When the 
eggs are hatched, the young grub pierces through 
the viscid substance which enclosed it, and flies 
away. The lac is first sold on the sticks, when 
it is called stick lac, but after it has been puri- 
fied and formed into thin layers or cakes, it is 
called shell lac. It is the principal ingredient 
in sealing wax and varnish, and is employed 
in japanning. Its usefulness arises from its 
being fusible, soluble, and adhesive. 



BUTTER. — CHEESE. 97 

LESSON V. 

BUTTER. 

Butter is prepared from the milk of the cow. 
When milk has been allowed to stand a few 
hours, a thick rich substance, called cream, 
rises to the surface. This is skimmed off, and 
by being briskly agitated, is converted into 
butter. The instrument by which this operation 
is performed is called a churn. There is another 
substance found in the churn besides the butter ; 
it is called butter-milk, and when fresh, is 
drunk by the peasantry. The butter prepared 
for winter srore is salted, and packed in barrels 
and tubs. The person who tends the cattle is 
called a cow-herd ; and the place where the 
milk is kept a 



LESSON VI. 



CHEESE. 



Cheese is prepared from milk which is co- 
agulated or curdled, by mixing it with a liquor 
called rennet ; the curds thus formed are a 
white solid substance ; they are separated from 

H 



98 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON VII. 

the whey or watery particles, and then pressed 
and dried. Rennet is made by steeping the 
inner membrane of a young calf's stomach in 
water. A colour is usually given to cheese 
by saffron, or by a substance called annatto, 
which is the seed-vessel of a shrub growing in 
the West Indies. 



LESSON VII. 

HORN. 

Horn is the hard substance that forms the 
frontal projections of horned animals, all of 
which are graminivorous. 1 This substance, 
when boiled, becomes a soft jelly, and can be 
moulded into any shape. By a peculiar pro- 
cess it is rendered semitransparent, and when 
formed into thin laminae or plates, is employed 
instead of glass for lanterns. It was the first 
transparent substance used for windows. It 
is now chiefly employed for combs, handles to 
knives and forks, occasionally for drinking 
utensils and inkhorns. It was formerly in much 
greater request than it is now, glass having been 
substituted in its place. 

1 From Latin gram en, grass : vor are, to eat. 



HONEY.— STARCH. 99 

LESSON VIII. 

HONEY. 

Honey is a sweet vegetable juice, collected 
by bees from the nectaries of flowers. These 
insects are furnished with a long hollow trunk, 
or proboscis, which they insert into the tubes 
of flowers and suck up the honey they contain ; 
when well laden with their treasure, they carry 
it home and deposit it in their cells for a winter 
store. 

The description given of Judea as a "land 
flowing with milk and honey," was literally 
true. The richness of the vegetation supplied 
the bees with ample stores; their combs were 
usually placed in clefts of rocks or the hollows 
of trees, and being continually melted by the 
heat of the sun, the honey actually flowed out 
of them in streams. See 1 Sam. xiv. 25, 26. 



LESSON IX. 

STARCH. 

Starch is a substance which may be obtained 
from several farinaceous vegetables; it is gene- 
rally prepared from wheat, by the following 
H 2 



100 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON X. 

process. The wheat is put into tubs of water, 
and exposed for some days to the heat of the 
sun, which brings on a degree of fermentation ; 
the water is changed twice a day. Having thus 
become sufficiently softened, it is poured into 
large canvass bags, which are worked or beaten, 
in order to separate the husks from the farina- 
ceous particles ; these last are received into an 
empty vessel. Fresh water is then mixed with 
them, and the whole is left to settle ; the water 
is poured off, and the sediment which remains at 
the bottom of the vessel is starch : this is formed 
into small pieces and dried. Starch, with the 
addition of smalt or stone blue, is used to stiffen 
linen : it is also formed into a powder for the 
hair. Starch or Fecula, is the nutritive part 
of most grains and roots ; it may be extracted 
in considerable quantities from potatoes. 



LESSON X. 

SAFFRON. 

Saffron is the orange-coloured pistil of a 
purple species of crocus, the leaves of which 
appear in spring, and the blossoms in autumn. 
It abounds in the neighbourhood of Saffron 
Waldon, in Essex, which takes its name from 
that circumstance. The flowers are gathered 



COURT PLASTER. 101 

every morning just before they expand ; and as 
they continue to open in succession for several 
weeks, the saffron harvest lasts a considerable 
time. When the flowers are gathered, they are 
spread on a table : the upper part of the pistil 
only is of any value. When a sufficient quantity 
of these are collected, they are dried upon a 
kind of portable kiln ; over this a hair cloth is 
stretched, and upon it a few sheets of white 
paper ; the saffron is placed upon these to the 
thickness of two or three inches ; the whole is 
then covered with white paper, over which is 
placed a coarse blanket or canvass bag filled 
with straw. When the fire has heated the kiln, 
a board, on which is a weight, is placed upon 
the blanket and presses the saffron together. It 
is used as a medicine, to flavour cakes, and to 
form a yellow dye. 



LESSON XI. 

COURT PLASTER. 

Court Plaster is a black, adhesive, thin sub- 
stance, applied to wounds on the skin, to protect 
them from the injurious effects of the air. The 
following is the manner of preparing it: a thin 
black sarcenet is stretched on a frame ; a warm 
solution of Isinglass is applied with a brush 



102 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XII. 

equally over the surface; when dry, this opera- 
tion is repeated a second or third time. It is 
next washed over with some Benzoin dissolved 
in spirits of wine. Benzoin is a resinous gum, 
which exudes from a tree growing in Sumatra. 
It possesses an aromatic perfume, and acts as a 
styptic. It is the chief ingredient in Friar's 
Balsam, and gives it the healing virtue it 
possesses. 



LESSON XII. 

GLUE. 

Glue is a viscid tenacious substance, used as 
a cement. The best is obtained from the skin 
of animals, generally the shavings, parings, and 
strips, which have been rejected by the currier. 
An inferior kind is procured from the hoofs, 
sinews, &c. of animals. It is prepared by 
steeping the skin for two or three days in water, 
then boiling it till it becomes a thick jelly ; 
whilst hot it is strained through osier baskets, 
the pure glue passes through the interstices, 
leaving the impurities in the baskets. It is then 
melted a second time, poured into square frames 
or moulds, and placed in the air to cool gradu- 
ally and congeal. Glue is used by carpenters, 
joiners, hatters, bookbinders, &c. 



TAMARINDS. 103 

Isinglass is a kind of glue, prepared from the 
air bladders or sounds of all the species of the 
Sturgeon ; it is used for culinary purposes, and 
for refining wine. 



LESSON XIII. 

TAMARINDS. 

The fruit of the Tamarind is a roundish, 
somewhat compressed pod, about four or five 
inches long, the external part of which is very 
brittle. Each pod contains three or four hard 
seeds enclosed in tough skins, surrounded by a 
dark coloured acid pulp, and connected together 
by numerous tough woody fibres. Before the 
tamarinds are exported, the pulp with the seeds 
and fibres, are taken out of the pod, and those 
which are the produce of the West Indies are 
preserved in a syrup. The East Indian Tama- 
rinds are usually sent without any such admix- 
ture. In hot countries the tamarind is valued 
as a refreshing fruit; and, steeped in water, it 
forms a cooling beverage. 



104 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XIV. 



LESSON XIV. 



INDIAN RUBBER, OR GUM ELASTIC. 

Indian Rubber is the hardened juice of a tree 
which grows in South America. The Indians 
make incisions through the bark of the tree, 
chiefly in wet weather; a milky juice oozes out, 
which is spread over moulds of clay ; when the 
first layer is dry, a second is put over it ; this 
operation is repeated till the India Rubber is 
of the thickness required. After this it is 
placed over the smoke of burning vegetables, 
which hardens and darkens it. The natives 
apply it to various purposes ; for water- proof 
boots, for bottles, and also for flambeaux, which 
give a very brilliant light, and burn for a great 
length of time. The principal uses to which 
Indian Rubber is applied here, are the effacing 
of black lead marks, for water- proof shoes, for 
balls, flexible tubes, syringes, and other instru- 
ments used by surgeons and chemists. Cloth 
of all kind may be made impenetrable to water, 
if impregnated with the fresh juice of the Indian 
Rubber tree. Ship bottoms are sometimes 
sheathed with Indian Rubber, cut very thin ; 
it is said to be an effectual preservative from 
the injuries of shell fish. 



FOREIGN CURRANTS. 105 

LESSON XV. 

FOREIGN CURRANTS. 

The foreign, or dried currants, are a species 
of small raisins or grapes, which chiefly grow 
in the Grecian Islands. They were formerly 
very abundant in the Isthmus of Corinth — and 
were called from thence Corinths , this term 
has been corrupted into currants, probably from 
their resemblance to the English fruit of that 
name. These little grapes have no stones, and 
are of a reddish black colour ; they are ex- 
tremely delicious when fresh gathered. The 
harvest commences in August ; and as soon as 
the grapes are gathered, they are spread to dry 
on a floor, prepared for the purpose by stamping 
the earth quite hard. This floor is formed with 
a gentle rising in the middle, that the rain, in 
case any should fall, may flow off and not 
injure the fruit. When sufficiently dry, the 
currents are cleaned and laid up in magazines, 
where they are so closely pressed together, that 
when a supply is needed, it is dug out with an 
iron instrument. 

They are packed in large casks for export- 
ation, and trodden down by the natives. 



106 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XVI. 

LESSON XVI. 

CORK. 

Cork is the bark of a kind of oak, growing 
chiefly in Spain. When it is to be removed 
from the tree, a longitudinal slit is cut, at the 
extremities of which incisions are made round 
the trunk ; it can then be stripped off with great 
ease by means of a curved knife with a handle 
at both ends. When the bark is taken from the 
tree, it is piled up in a ditch or pond, and heavy 
stones are placed upon it, in order to flatten it. 
After being dried, it is slightly burnt or charred, 
and then packed for exportation. One principal 
use of cork is to stop bottles, for which purpose 
it is fitted by its elasticity ; a piece rather larger 
than the neck of the bottle being inserted, the 
tendency it has to resume its former shape causes 
it completely to till up the aperture, and exclude 
the air. Its buoyant effect in water, arising 
from its lightness, renders it useful to those who 
are learning to swim; for the same reason it is 
employed in the construction of life-boats, and 
for the floats of fishing-nets. The Spaniards 
make lamp-black of it. The men employed in 
cutting and preparing it for sale, are called 
cork-cutters. 



LEATHER. 107 

LESSON XVII. 

LEATHER. 

Leather is the prepared skin of animals ; that 
of cows, oxen, and horses, is chiefly used for 
shoes ; that of kids, goats, and dogs, for gloves, 
and also shoes ; and that of calves for book- 
binding, saddles, harness, &c. 

The unprepared skin is called a hide ; the 
first operation it undergoes is soaking in lime- 
water to cleanse it from grease and other impu- 
rities ; the hairs are then removed by a kind of 
knife, the oil and grease are afterwards more 
completely extracted by an alkali, or diluted 
sulphuric acid. After this, it is taken to the 
tan-yard, stretched over a pit, and covered with 
tan; in this state it remains about two months* 
But if the leather be intended for the upper part 
of shoes, seats of saddles, and such purposes as 
do not require great strength or impermeability 
to water, it is first sent to the currier : his work 
is to scrape it, reducing it all to an equal degree 
of thickness, and also to render it supple by 
oil or grease. The skins are then tanned. Tan 
is the bark of the oak, possessing a remarkable 
degree of astringency ; it consequently contracts 
the pores of the leather, and renders it imper- 
vious to wet. The quality which the leather 



108 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XVIII. 

thus obtains from the tanning, combined with 
its durability and suppleness, particularly adapts 
it for shoes, boots, &c. 



LESSON XVIII. 

SPONGE. 

Sponge is a marine production ; it was for- 
merly supposed to be a vegetable, but the opinion 
now generally entertained, is that it is a habi- 
tation constructed by a little worm, one of the 
species considered to occupy the lowest rank in 
the animal kingdom. It is found adhering to 
various marine substances at the bottom of the 
sea, especially in the Mediterranean, and is pro- 
cured by divers, who are early trained to this 
employment. Sponge absorbs fluids rapidly, 
and yields them again when compressed. It 
was frequently saturated with myrrh and wine, 
and given to persons suffering the punishment 
of crucifixion, in order to deaden the sense of 
pain, and subdue the intolerable thirst which 
is the consequence of their agony. To this 
custom the sacred historian refers in the account 
of our Lord's death ; but his unrelenting per- 
secutors, instead of offering him the myrrh and 
wine, " filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it 
upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth." The 



COFFEE. 109 

offer of vinegar was considered, among the Jews, 
as an intolerable outrage to their feelings. It is 
alluded to in the following passage, which at 
the same time foretold the future sufferings of 
the Redeemer of mankind. " Reproach hath 
broken mine heart, and I am full of heaviness ; 
and I looked for some to take pity, but there 
was none ; and for comforters but I found none. 
They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my 
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Psalm 
Ixix. 20, 21. 



LESSON XIX. 

COFFEE. 

Coffee is the seed of a plant growing princi- 
pally in Arabia and the West Indies ; the 
flower resembles jasmine, and the leaves are 
evergreen, the fruit when ripe is like the cherry ; 
it contains two cells, and each cell has a single 
hemispherical seed. When ripe, it is either 
gathered by the hand, or shaken from the trees, 
and placed on mats for the sun to dry the pulpy 
substance which surrounds the seed. The husk 
is broken by heavy rollers, and afterwards 
removed by winnowing. In order to prepare 
the coffee for a beverage, it must be roasted 
till it becomes of a dark brown colour, and 



110 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XX. 

extremely odorous; after which it is ground, 
and either infused or boiled in water. It is 
remarkable for its very stimulating property. 
Its discovery is said to have been occasioned 
by the following circumstance. Some goats, 
who browsed upon this plant, were observed 
by the goatherd to be exceedingly wakeful, and 
often to caper about in the night ; the prior of a 
neighbouring monastery, wishing to keep his 
monks awake at their matins, tried if the coffee 
would produce the same effect upon them as it 
was observed to do upon the goats : the success 
of his experiment led to the appreciation of its 
value. 



LESSON XX. 

TEA. 

The beverage called Tea is an infusion of 
leaves; the plant which produces them is a 
native of Japan and China ; it bears a flower 
resembling the wild rose, and the leaves are 
narrow, pointed, and serrated. It grows only 
in a stony soil, and at the foot of mountains 
and rocks, exposed to a southern aspect. There 
is great art exercised in gathering and drying 
the leaves, which are afterwards subjected to 
the vapours of boiling water to moisten them. 
In this state they are laid upon plates of metal, 



RICE. Ill 

and being exposed to considerable heat, curl up. 
Green tea is the produce of the same plant as 
black : the difference of its qualities arises from 
the leaves being gathered in a different stage of 
their growth, and from their being dried upon 
plates of copper. 



LESSON XXI. 

RICE. 

Rice is the grain of a kind of corn, and 
grows in a spike similar to oats ; it is very 
abundant in China, the West Indies and 
America; it is also produced in the south 
of Europe : Switzerland draws its supplies 
from Piedmont. It will not thrive without 
much moisture, and therefore comes to the 
greatest perfection in marshy lands. The cul- 
tivators of rice always inundate their grounds, 
and the higher the water rises, the higher the 
plant grows, the ear always appearing above 
the water. It requires as much heat to mature 
the seed, as it does moisture to nourish the 
plant in its growth. In India the women thrash 
and prepare the rice, which is a very laborious 
employment. The Bramins live almost en- 
tirely upon it, their religion forbidding them the 
use of animal food. Rice is very nutritious, 



112 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXII. 

wholesome food ; it is also manufactured into 
vessels which resemble china or alabaster. 



LESSON XXII. 

SAGO. 

Sago is the pith of the sago palm, a tree 
indigenous to Japan and the dry rocky moun- 
tains of Malabar. 

It is hardly possible to imagine a plant more 
graceful in its foliage, or more beautiful when in 
fruit than this species of palm. The foliation, 
which slightly resembles that of the fern, is 
placed on the stem in the manner of the feathers 
of a shuttlecock, forming a gigantic basket of 
the most graceful appearance ; at the bottom of 
this is the salmon-coloured flower, resembling 
both in shape and texture, the flower of the 
cockscomb, but of a pale buff colour inclining to 
brown. The fruit is a drupa, that is, a nut sur- 
rounded by a pulpy substance, as a plum. The 
growth of this plant at first is slow, it appears 
for some time a shrub thickly set with prickles ; 
as it increases in height, it loses its thorns. 
When the tree has reached its maturity, a 
whitish powder transpires through the pores of 
the leaves, and adheres to their extremities. On 



THE COCOA NUT. 113 

this intimation of the trees being filled with 
pith, the Malays cut them clown near their roots, 
and divide them into several sections, which 
are split into quarters. The bark is woody and 
about an inch in thickness ; in the centre of the 
stem is a fat or gummy pith, which forms the 
sago. This pithy substance being scooped out, 
is diluted in pure water, and strained through a 
bag of fine cloth, which separates the glutinous 
from the farinaceous matter. This latter having 
lost part of its moisture by evaporation, is 
passed through sieves, by which process it 
becomes granulated, and being received into 
earthen vessels, it dries and hardens into little 
globules. Sago is extremely nutritious and 
wholesome, and forms an excellent light diet 
for invalids. 



LESSON XXIII. 

THE COCOA NUT. 

The tree which produces this fruit is a kind of 
Palm, its trunk resembles a stately column, 
crowned at the summit with narrow leaves four- 
teen or fifteen feet in length, and only three in 
breadth ; amidst these hangs the fruit. The ex- 
ternal rind of the cocoa nut is brown, smooth, 
and approaches a triangular form. Thiscoveriirg 
i 



114 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXIII. 

encloses an extremely fibrous substance of con- 
siderable thickness which immediately surrounds 
the nut — the latter has a thick and hard shell 
with three holes at the base, each closed by a 
black membrane. The kernel is about an inch 
in thickness, it lines the shell and encloses a 
sweet refreshing liquid. The Cocoa-nut tree 
affords the Indians food, cloathing, and means 
of shelter. Before the kernel comes to maturity 
it is soft and pulpy, may be scraped out with a 
spoon, and affords the natives an agreeable and 
nutritious food; when pressed in a mill it yields 
an oil. By making incisions in the tree during the 
spring, a cool refreshing liquor flows out, which 
if allowed to stand any time, ferments, becomes 
spirituous, and is exceedingly intoxicating — it is 
called Toddy. By soaking the fibrous trunk in 
water it becomes soft and can be manufactured 
into sailcloth or twisted into cordage of any 
description, which surpasses in durability that 
formed of hemp. The woody shells are used 
for cups, ladles, or other domestic utensils. 
The trunk of the tree furnishes either beams or 
rafters for their habitations, or is made into 
boats. The leaves platted together form an ex- 
cellent thatch, they are also used for umbrellas, 
mats, and various other useful articles. 



BREAD. 115 



LESSON XXIV. 



BREAD. 

Bread is made of flour, yeast, and a little 
salt, kneaded together with water into a soft 
paste called dough. Flour is most frequently 
made of wheat. It is first thrashed, either 
with a flail or a thrashing machine ; the grain 
is next separated from the chaff by winnowing : 
it is then ground in a mill and converted into 
flour; the skin of the grain when separated is 
called hran, when left with the flour it makes 
the flour browner and coarser. Yeast is the 
frothy substance which rises to the top of new 
beer; it penetrates the dough, disunites the 
particles, causes them to rise, and thus makes 
the bread light. It is similar in its effects to the 
leaven mentioned in Scripture, which is sour 
dough penetrating and changing the state of the 
whole mass with which it is mixed. Leaven is 
used to represent that evil disposition we inherit 
from Adam, and which pervades and corrupts 
our whole nature. Our Saviour calls himself 
the bread of life ; intimating, that as bread by 
its nutritious properties supports our bodies, so 
He, by the influences of his Spirit, maintains 
the life of our souls. Bread is termed the staff 
I 2 



116 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXV. 

of life, and is frequently used to signify food in 
general. A man is thus said to earn his bread, 
and we pray for our daily bread. 

Hye, oats, and barley, are sometimes made 
into bread. 



LESSON XXV. 

SUGAR. 

Sugar is the produce of the sugar-cane, a 
plant growing principally in the East and West 
Indies. A field of canes in blossom presents a 
beautiful sight; the stem is a jointed culmus or 
reed, of a bright golden hue when ripe, and 
growing amidst long narrow pendant leaves. 
The flowers appear like a plume of white feathers 
tinged with lilac. When ripe, the cane or stem 
is gathered and conveyed to the mill, where it 
is pressed between two iron cylinders: the juice 
is received into a trough, and from thence it is 
conveyed to a boiler, into which some quick 
lime is thrown ; this uniting with the oleaginous 
particles and the superabundant acid, rises with 
them to the surface and is skimmed off. When the 
sugar nearly boils, it is strained off into another 
boiler, where it undergoes the same process as 
before. This is repeated six or seven times, 
when it is received into coolers, which are shal- 



WHALEBONE. 117 

low wooden vessels. In these the sugar forms 
into grains, separating itself from the molasses ; 
when dry, it is called raw sugar, and is barrelled 
for exportation. The process of converting it 
into white or refined sugar, is the business of 
the sugar refiner or baker ; he boils it over 
again, putting bullocks' blood and white of eggs 
into it to cleanse it from impurities. 

The planter is the cultivator of the sugar- 
canes. The merchant imports it. The sugar- 
refiner converts it into white sugar. The grocer 
retails the sugar in small quantities. 



LESSON XXVI. 

WHALEBONE. 

Whalebone is taken from the jaw-bone of the 
whale, the largest animal that now inhabits our 
globe. The vessels employed in the whale- 
fishery are called whalers, and the fish is caught 
in the following manner. When, by the water 
which it spouts up, it is ascertained to be near, 
six boats are dispatched from the whaler, with 
six rowers in each, and a man called an har- 
pooner, from his being armed with a harpoon, 
a kind of forked instrument ; to this is affixed 
a rope, at the other end of which is a gourd ; 
the harpoon having been darted into the whale, 



J 18 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXVII. 

the gourd marks the spot where the wounded 
animal disappears. When the whale is struck, 
he dives with such velocity under the surface 
that it is necessary to wet the rope which he 
drags over the side of the boat, to prevent its 
taking fire ; and the fishermen loose their hold 
of it for a time, till the strength of the animal 
is in some degree spent, or there would be 
danger of his sinking the boat by his extreme 
violence. The whale cannot remain long under 
water; he soon re-appears spouting up blood, 
and is again attacked by the harpooners, who 
after repeated efforts dispatch him. When dead, 
he is cut up. The fat, which is called blubber, 
is stowed into casks, and oil is afterwards pro- 
cured from it. The bone is used as a stiffened 
for whips, bows, stays, &c. The whale fisheries 
are carried on in the Polar Seas. 



LESSON XXVII. 

GLASS. 

Glass is made of sand or flint, combined with 
an alkali, by exposure to intense heat, which 
causes these substances to unite and melt. This 
mixture is said to have been discovered acciden- 
tally in Syria, by some merchants, who were 
driven by stress of weather upon its shores. 



GLASS. 119 

They had lighted a fire upon the sands to cook 
their food ; the fire was made of the plant called 
kali, which grows on the sea-shore ; the sand 
mixed with its ashes, became virtified * by the 
heat. This furnished the merchants with the hint 
that led to the making of glass, which was first 
regularly manufactured at Sidon in Syria. Eng- 
land is now much celebrated for its glass. The 
qualities which render the substance so valuable, 
are, that it is hard, transparent, incorrosive, not 
being affected by any substance but fluoric acid, 
and that when fused it becomes so ductile and 
plastic, that it may be moulded into any form, 
which it will retain when cool. There are three 
sorts of furnaces used in making it : one to pre- 
pare the frit, a second to work the glass, and a 
third to anneal it. After having properly mixed 
the ashes and sand, they are put into the first 
furnace, where they are burned or calcined for a 
sufficient time, and become what is called frit. 
This being boiled afterwards in pots or crucibles 
of pipe-clay in the second furnace, is fit for the 
operation of blowing ; the annealing furnace is 
intended to cool the glass very gradually : for 
if it be exposed to the cold air immediately after 
being blown, it will fall into a thousand pieces, 
as if struck by a hammer. 

Before glass was invented, thin folia of mica 
were used for windows. 

1 Derived from Lat. vitr. urn, glass : and fi t, it becomes. 



120 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXVIII. 

LESSON XXVIII. 

PARCHMENT. 

Parchment is the skin of sheep or goats, pre- 
pared in the following manner. The wool or 
hair is stripped off the skin, which is then taken 
to the lime-pit ; after this it is stretched as tight 
as a drum upon a frame, and the flesh pared off 
with a keen-edged instrument ; a kind of white 
stone or chalk reduced to a fine powder is then 
spread upon the surface, and a large pumice- 
stone, flat at bottom, is rubbed over it, which 
scours off the remainder of the flesh. The 
knife is once more applied to the skin, which 
is moistened and rubbed again with the pumice- 
stone, until the inner side is smooth. The out- 
side then undergoes a similar operation. It is 
now left to dry, and afterwards is taken off the 
frame and given to the parchment maker. He 
first puts it on an instrument called a summer, 
(which is a calf's skin well stretched on a 
frame), and scrapes it with a sharp iron tool, 
until one half of the thickness of the skin is 
pared off; the pumice-stone is next passed over 
it on both sides, till it is rendered quite smooth. 

Parchment was in use long before the inven- 
tion of paper. Wills, and other documents, in- 
tended to be preserved for any length of time, 
are written on it. It is also used for drums. 



PAPER. 121 

LESSON XXIX. 

PAPER. 

Linen Paper was first introduced into England 
in the fourteenth century. It is made of linen 
rags, first carefully picked and sorted, according 
to their quality ; they are then reduced to a 
pulp by a machine, which consists of a solid 
cylindrical piece of wood, into which are fastened 
plates of steel, ground very sharp : this is fixed 
in a trough into which the rags are put with a 
sufficient quantity of water. At the bottom 
of the trough is a plate with steel bars, also 
ground sharp. The engine being turned round 
with considerable velocity, and the rags passing 
through the two sets of iron plates, are torn to 
pieces, and in the course of four hours are 
reduced to a pulp. The motion of the engine 
causes the water in the trough to circulate, and 
by that means constantly returns the stuff to 
the engine. The trough is fed with clear water 
at one end, while the dirty water is carried off 
at the other through a hole defended with 
wire grating to prevent the escape of the pulp. 
From this, which is called the washing engine, 
the pulp passes in a state of purity and white- 
ness to another engine similarly constructed, and 
called the beating engine. The only difference 



122 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XXIX. 

between this operation and the former is, that 
the velocity is increased, and that it is no longer 
necessary to introduce fresh water, the pulp 
having been already cleansed from its impurities. 
From hence it passes into a large vat connected 
with boilers, and the heat they produce gives 
the pulp a degree of consistency; it is after- 
wards conveyed into smaller vessels, in each of 
which is a wheel called an agitator, which pre- 
vents it from sinking to the bottom. Into these 
vessels a workman dips a mould, a kind of sieve 
the size of the paper to be made, and about an 
inch deep : the bottom is formed of fine brass 
wires through which the superfluous water passes. 
The skill of the workman consists in taking up 
just so much pulp as is necessary to form the 
paper of a proper thickness. Another workman 
is stationed to receive from the first the mould, 
out of which he turns the sheet upon a felt or 
woollen cloth : another woollen cloth is placed 
upon it ready to receive the next sheet. Thus 
they proceed, placing alternately paper and felt, 
till they have made six quires of paper. This 
is then wheeled to the press, where great force 
is applied, and the water is squeezed from it. 
After this, the paper is separated from the felt, 
one sheet is laid upon another, and it under- 
goes a second pressure. This operation is 
repeated five or six times, and the sheets 
are separated from one another between each 
application of the screw press. They are after- 



PAPER. 123 

wards hung up to dry in rooms where there is a 
fresh current of air. In this state the paper 
is absorbent like blotting paper ; to tit it for 
writing, it is sized. Size is made of vellum 1 
shavings boiled in water, with sulphate of zinc 
and alum finely pounded. After the paper is 
sized, it is again pressed four or five times, and 
hung up to dry as before. It is then told into 
quires, and sent to the stationer, who prepares 
it for sale. 

The most ancient kind of paper was made 
from the Papyrus, a species of reed growing on 
the banks of the Nile, from whence our name 
paper. Leaves also were employed at a very 
early period for the purpose of preserving and 
transmitting the opinions and experiences of man- 
kind ; hence originated the word folio, (folium 
being the latin for leaf) and also the meaning of 
leaf as applied to a book. The use of bark suc- 
ceeded that of leaves, generally the inner bark 
of the lime tree : it was called by the Romans 
liber, and they gave the name of liber to a book., 
and we have adopted the term library for a 
number of books. For the convenience of car- 
rying, this substance was rolled up, and in this 
form was denominated volumen, from which is 
clearly derived our volume. Our Saxon ancestors 
employed the bark of the beech, which they 
termed hoc, and which we have transferred t& 

1 Vellum is the prepared skin of young calves, 



124 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XXX. 

our book. It is probable that skins of animals 
were the first substances upon which characters 
were written. 



LESSON XXX. 

WOOL. 

The clothing manufactured from wool, is par- 
ticularly adapted to cold countries ; not that 
it communicates warmth, but, being a non- 
conductor of heat, it prevents that of our bodies 
from escaping. Wool is the hairy covering of 
sheep ; it is taken from the living animal in the 
summer season, by an operation called sheep- 
shearing, and in that state is called the fleece. 
The wool of the Spanish sheep is particularly 
fine ; in that country a flock often contains a 
thousand sheep. 

The first operation performed on the raw wool 
is to pick and sort it ; this is particularly need- 
ful, as the same sheep produces wool of various 
qualities. It is next cleansed from its impurities, 
and committed to the wool-comber, who, by 
means of iron-spiked combs of different degrees 
of fineness, draws out the fibres, smooths, and 
straightens them. It is then prepared for the 
spinner 9 who forms it into threads, the more 



COTTON. 125 

twisted of which are called worsted, and the less 
twisted yarn. It is then employed in the manu- 
facture of every description of hosiery, stuffs, 
carpets, flannels, blankets, and cloths. England 
manufactures so much woollen clothing, that it 
was formerly considered the staple commodity 
of the country ; and to mark its importance, the 
Lord Chancellor sits upon a woolsack. 



LESSON XXXL 

COTTON. 

The Cotton plant is cultivated in the East and 
West Indies; it produces a beautiful yellow 
flower ; and the seed vessel is a pod containing 
a white downy substance which surrounds the 
seed. This is picked by the hand and separated 
from the seeds by a machine which at the same 
time loosens its fibres ; afterwards it is packed 
in large bags, and sent by the planter to the 
manufacturer. It is then carded ; that is, wound 
upon cylindrical cards, worked by machinery ; 
afterwards it is roved, by which process the loose 
fibres are removed with an instrument resembling 
a comb ; it is then twisted and drawn out into 
threads or yarn and sent to the weaver. It is 
made into muslins, calicoes, stockings, quilts, 
corduroys, cS^c. The machinery employed in 



126 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXXII. 

England in carding, roving, and spinning, is 
quite unequalled, and occasions our cotton goods 
to be much sought after. In India and China, 
some of the plants produce a buff cotton, of 
which nankeens are manufactured. 



LESSON XXXII. 

FLAX. 

Flax is a slender annual plant with a hollow 
fibrous stem, bearing a delicate blue flower. 
Linen, lace, and canvass are made of its fibrous 
bark. When the flax is gathered, it is exposed 
for some time to the influence of the sun to 
ripen the seeds ; which are afterwards threshed 
out, and an oil called linseed oil 1 is expressed 
from them. The stalks are then loosely tied in 
bundles, fastened to poles, and placed in stagnant 
pools, where they are left to steep for about 
fifteen days. By the fermentation which ensues, 
the bark or flaxy substance becomes separated, 
when the stalks are thinly spread on the grass, 
in which state they exhale a very disagreeable 
and pernicious odour. After this operation they 
are beaten with a mallet, which removes the 
pulpy substance and loosens the fibres; these are 

1 From lin um, the Latin name of the plant. 



FLAX. 127 

then drawn through a comb with coarse iron 
teeth, and afterwards through one with finer teeth. 
The refuse is called tow, and is the substance 
used to make packing-cloths, and for the caulk- 
ing of ships. The operation of spinning, which 
next succeeds, is drawing out several of the 
fibres and twisting them ; this was formerly 
done by means of a distaff, but now it is per- 
formed in a more expeditious manner by machi- 
nery. Weaving is the final operation ; it may 
be regarded as a finer kind of matting. To 
perform it, the threads which compose the length 
of a piece of cloth are first disposed in order, 
and strained by weights to a proper tightness ; 
this is called the vjarp. These threads are sepa- 
rated by an instrument called a reed, into two 
sets, each composed of every other thread ; and 
while by the working of a treadle, each set of 
threads is thrown alternately up and down, the 
cross threads called the woof ox weft are inserted 
between them, by means of a little instrument 
sharp at both ends, called a shuttle, which the 
weaver briskly throws from one hand to the 
other, and which carries the thread with it. 
This is the most simple kind of weaving. The 
quality of the flax depends upon the soil in 
which it is cultivated ; but the fineness of the 
thread in some degree upon the dexterity of the 
spinner. 

Egypt was celebrated at a very early period 
for the manufacture of linen. 



128 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXXIII. 

LESSON XXXIII. 

HEMP. 

Hemp is obtained from an annual plant which 
thrives in a rich moist soil in temperate climates. 
It is much cultivated in Norfolk and Suffolk : 
and in Russia it forms one of the principal articles 
of commerce. The stalk consists chiefly of a 
tissue of fibres joined together by a soft sub- 
stance, which easily rots. At the proper season 
it is gathered and steeped in water ; then beaten 
in order to loosen the bark from the fibres. 
This is completed by an operation called card- 
ing, performed with an instrument resembling a 
comb. It is next spun, and then passes into 
the hands of the ropemaker or weaver, according 
to the use for which it is designed. 

The extreme toughness, pliability, and dura- 
bility of hemp, fit it peculiarly for purposes 
where great strength is required, as the cordage 
and tackle of our vessels and fishing nets. It is 
computed that the sails and cordage of a first- 
rate man of war, require as much hemp for their 
construction, as would be the yearly produce 
of four hundred and twenty-four acres of land. 



SILK. 129 

LESSON XXXIV. 

SILK. 

Silk is the production of a caterpillar, and 
constitutes the covering in which it envelopes 
itself when it changes from the larva state to 
that of the chrysalis. From the latter inani- 
mate condition it emerges as a moth, and having 
laid its eggs, it soon dies. 

The cocoon, or web of the silk- worm, is an 
oval ball of silk, which it has spun out of a 
substance secreted in its own body. The shades 
of the silk vary from the palest straw colour to 
deep yellow. In a state of nature the silk- 
worms form their cocoons upon the mulberry- 
tree itself, where they shine like golden fruits 
amidst the leaves ; but the colder climates of 
Europe will not allow of their being raised in 
the open air. They are in consequence kept in 
warm but airy rooms, and fed with mulberry- 
leaves till they are fully grown. They change 
their skin several times while they are in the 
caterpillar state ; at length they become so full 
of the silky matter, that it gives them a yellowish 
tinge : they then cease to eat. At this indi- 
cation of their approaching change, twigs are 
placed over them upon little stages of wicker- 
K 



130 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XXXV. 

work, on which they immediately begin to form 
their webs. When these are finished, the downy 
matter on the outside called flos, is taken off, 
and the cocoons are thrown into warm water to 
dissolve the glutinous particles which had caused 
the silk to adhere : the ends of the threads 
being found, several are joined together and 
wound upon a reel; this is called raw silk. 
It next undergoes an operation to cleanse it, and 
render it more supple, after which it is twisted 
into threads of different degrees of fineness, as 
required by the weaver ; in this state it is called 
thrown silk. The excellence of silk as a material 
for dress consists in its strength, lightness, lustre, 
and its being capable of taking the finest dyes. 
Silk may be made into substances varying in 
thickness, from the finest transparent gauze to 
the richest velvets and brocades. Our manufac- 
turers are supplied with silk chiefly from China, 
Persia, and Italy. France is the most nor- 
thern climate in which silk is produced in any 
quantity. 

LESSON XXXV. 

FELT. 

Felt is the substance of which hats are made. 
It is composed of hairs ; those of the beaver are 
chiefly used by hatters. The operation of feltifig 



FELT. 131 

depends upon a peculiar construction in all hairs* 
which, however smooth and even they may 
appear, have in reality a tiled or scaly texture 
on the surface. The scales are so placed, that 
they yield to the finger if drawn along the hair 
from the root to the point, but present a resist- 
ance when moved in a contrary direction. In 
consequence of this peculiarity, if a hair be 
seized in the middle between two fingers and 
rubbed, the root will gradually recede and the 
point will approach the ringers, exhibiting a 
progressive motion towards the root; the imbri- 
cated surface preventing all motion in the oppo- 
site way. From this property, hairs, when 
beaten or pressed together, begin to move in the 
direction of the root, and are disposed to catch 
hold and twist round each other, and thus to 
cohere into a continuous mass, which is called 
felt. Curled hairs entwine themselves more 
closely into one another than those which are 
straight, though flexible, as these latter recede 
from the root in a direct line. The hatter spreads 
them over the surface of his coarser cloth, and 
when pressed, these fine straight hairs moving in 
the direction of their roots, form a coating; 
their base being inserted in the felt, while their 
extremities remain free. It is in consequence 
of this tendency to felt, that woollen cloths 
increase in density, and contract in dimensions by 
being washed ; and also that they do not ravel 
out when cut. The Zetlanders, availing them- 

K 2 



132 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXXVI. 

selves of this peculiar construction of hairs, 
felt their wool by putting it into narrow inlets 
of the sea, where it is exposed to the continual 
motions of the tides. 



LESSON XXVI. 



PORCELAIN. 

Clay and flint are the chief ingredients of por- 
celain. The first gives the plasticity and tenacity 
requisite for the moulding it into a shape, the 
latter renders it hard, and allows of a slight 
degree of vitrification. The following is the 
usual process carried on in our English manu- 
factories of China. Flints are first calcined, 
then mixed in certain proportions with Cornish 
granite, 1 and ground to a very fine powder ; 
water is poured upon this mixture, and it is 
twice strained through silken sieves. It is then 
boiled till it is of the consistency of cream, and 
the watery particles being evaporated, it becomes 
a tough paste. A portion of this substance is 
then placed upon a turning wheel ; and moulded 
by the hand with a precision and rapidity, that 

1 It is to the large proportion of Felspar in a state of 
decomposition that Cornish granite owes the preference 
which is given to it. 



PORCELAIN. 133 

practice only can give. Vessels of a circular 
shape are formed in this manner, as bowls, 
plates, cups and saucers ; utensils of other forms 
are made in moulds of gypsum, the pores of 
which absorbing the moisture of the clay, the 
vessels are contracted in size, and in consequence 
may be easily loosened from the mould. Each 
vessel thus formed is placed in a separate clay 
case. The furnace is filled with these, and then 
bricked closely up, and they are subjected to a 
red heat for sixty hours. The temperature is 
then gradually lowered, and the porcelain is 
withdrawn ; in this state, it is called biscuit, and 
is white, dull, and porous. This process greatly 
diminishes the size of the vessels ; it fits them 
to receive the blue colour, called cobalt, 1 which 
has the appearance of a dirty grey till glazed. 
The glazing consists of lead and glass, ground to 
an impalpable powder, mixed in water with some 
other ingredients which are kept secret. The 
biscuit is merely dipped into the glazing, and 
is then baked again for forty hours. It is now 
ready to receive the other colours, and the 
gilding which the pattern may require. It is 
then baked a third time for ten hours or more. 
Lastly, the gilding is burnished with bloodstone 
or agate, and the china is ready for the ware- 
room. The colours are changed by baking, 
appearing very different when first laid on. 

1 Cobalt is an oxide of the metal of that name. 



134 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXXVIJ. 



ON METALS. 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

In these lessons on the common metals, it is 
advisable to present the specimens to the class 
in their several natural and artificial states, that 
is, the ores, and the native and manufactured 
metals. The plan of writing down the list of 
qualities has been again adopted with the metals, 
as they lead to a new range of properties which 
form so decidedly the characteristic distinctions 
of the substances. 



LESSON XXXVII. 

GOLD. 

Qualities. 

It is a perfect metal, 
malleable. x 1. 

1 A solid piece of gold and some leaf gold should be 
presented to the class, and the extreme lightness and 
thinness of the leaf may be felt. 

Teacher. How was the gold made so thin 9 

Children. It was beaten out. 

Teacher. With what? 



GOLD. 135 

It is ductile. 2. 
tenacious. 3. 
heavy. 4. 
indestructible. 
, fusible. 

incombustible, except by electricity, 
soft, compared with other metals, 
pliable, 
compact, 
yellow, 
solid, 
opaque, 
brilliant, 
reflective, 
sonorous. 
Not affected by any acid but aqua regia. 1 

Children. With a hammer. 

All things that can be thus extended by beating, are 
called malleable from Lat. Mall eus, a hammer. 

Teacher. Could glass be thus beaten out ? Could 
chalk ? Camphor ? What quality prevents them from 
being malleable ? 

Children. Glass is brittle. Chalk is friable. 

Teacher. What quality in gold then renders it mal- 
leable ? 

Children. Its being tenacious. 

Teacher. What other quality in gold arises from its 
being tenacious ? 

Children. It is ductile. 

Teacher. Ductile is derived from Lat. Due tills, 
capable of being drawn out. 

1 Aqua regia (royal water) is a mixture of muriatic 
acid and nitric acid. 



136 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXXVII. 

It is a perfect metal, because it does not lose 
any of its weight when fused, nor suffer any 
change. Most metals become oxydated. 1 

When the children understand fully the dif- 
ferent qualities, the teacher may mention to 
them the facts that prove the extraordinary de- 
gree in which the peculiar qualities exist in the 
metal. 

1. Malleable. A grain of gold, the size of a 
pin's head, may be beaten out to cover a space 
of fifty square inches. 

2. Ductile. A grain of gold can be drawn 
out to cover a wire of 352 fett in length ; a 
guinea can be drawn out to reach nine miles 
and a half. 

3. Tenacious. A wire one-tenth of an inch 
in diameter will support 500 pounds without 
breaking. 

4. Heavy. It is nineteen times heavier than 
water of the same bulk. 

Uses of Gold. 

When alloyed 2 with copper, gold is used as 
coin, and for ornamental purposes; for the latter 
it is fitted by its brilliancy and beauty, and also 
because it is not liable to tarnish. 

1 Combined with a certain portion of oxygen. 
2 The combination of metals with each other are called 
in chemistry, alloys ; but this term is commonly employed 
to designate those substances that lessen the value of any 
with which they are united. 



GOLD. 137 

The gold used in coinage, called standard 
gold, consists of a combination of about twenty- 
two parts gold, and two copper. Gold of the 
new standard, which is stamped at Goldsmith's 
Hall, consists of only eighteen parts gold, and 
six copper. 

Gold thread is made by covering silk or silver 
with gold beaten very thin. 

Gilding is the art of covering the surface of a 
substance with gold, this is effected by applying 
it either in the state of leaf, or liquid gold, to a 
surface covered by a cement. 

Quicksilver unites with gold, communicating 
to it a portion of its own fluidity ; it has from this 
circumstance been used in gilding buttons, an 
effect which is produced very rapidly by the 
following process. The metals are mixed to- 
gether, and the buttons immersed in the com- 
pound. They are then exposed to great heat, 
by which the quicksilver is evaporated, and the 
gold is left upon the buttons. 

The purple colour used in painting porcelain 
is obtained from gold. 

Gold is beaten into leaves upon a smooth 
block of marble fitted into a wooden frame 
about two feet square ; on three sides there is a 
high ledge, and the front has a flap of leather 
attached to it, which the workman uses as an 
apron to preserve the fragments that fall off. 
There are three kinds of animal membrane used 
in the operation. For interlaying with the gold 



133 FIFTH SERIES — LESSON XXXVII. 

at first, the smoothest and closest vellum is jj 
procured; and when the gold becomes thin, [ 
this is exchanged for much finer skin, made of 
the entrails of oxen prepared for this purpose, 
and hence called gold beater's skin ; the whole j 
is covered with parchment to prevent the ham- 
mer from injuring it. After the gold has been 
reduced to a sufficient degree of thinness, it is 
put between paper which has been well smoothed 
and rubbed with red bole irf order to prevent it 
adhering to the gold. 

Geographical and Geological situation of Gold. 

Gold is found principally in hot climates, 
either native or as an ore. A metal is called 
native when it occurs in nature pure, and an ore 
when mixed with other substances. Gold is 
found in mines, in Brazil, Peru, and Mexico. 
Part of the Western coast of Africa is called 
the Gold Coast, from the gold dust brought 
down by the natives to trade with. A great 
quantity of gold is obtained in the form of fine 
sand, from American and African rivers ; and 
in small quantities from the Danube, the Rhine, 
and the Rhone : it is supposed to be carried 
down by the mountain torrents. The wandering 
tribes of gipsies employ themselves in washing 
it from the beds of the European rivers. The 
Himalaya mountains in Asia are rich in gold. 
It sometimes occurs in the veins which run 



SILVER, 139 

through mountains and sometimes in rounded 
masses in soils that are evidently the ruins of 
rocks. The mines which formerly yielded the 
largest quantities of gold were those of Peru 
and Lima ; the principal of Europe are those 
of Hungary and Saltzburg. The mode of ex- 
tracting gold from the ore, is by reducing the 
whole to fine powder, and mixing it with quick- 
silver. The latter unites with every particle 
of the gold, but being incapable of forming a 
combination with any but metallic substances^ 
it separates the gold from the earth with which 
it is intermixed. The quicksilver which has 
absorbed the gold is then evaporated by means 
of heat, leaving the pure metal in the vessel. 



LESSON XXXVIII. 

SILVER. 

Qualities. 

It is malleable. 1. 
ductile. 2. 
tenacious. 3. 
heavy. 4. 
indestructible, 
fusible, 
soft, 
flexible. 



140 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXXVIII. 

It is a perfect metal, 
opaque, 
white, 
solid, 
compact, 
natural, 
brilliant, 
reflective, 
sweetly sonorous, 
not affected by common acids. 

1. Malleable. Silver can be reduced to a 
degree of thinness, nearly equal to that of which 
gold is capable. 

2. Ductile. It can also be drawn out to the 
finest wire. 

3. Tenacious. A wire one-tenth of an inch 
in thickness will support 377 pounds without 
breaking. 

4. Heavy. It is about eleven times heavier 
than water. 

Uses of Silver. 

Silver is used for coin, and is then combined 
with copper, to render it harder and better 
adapted to receive a fine and sharp impression 
on being cast. The same alloy is employed for 
ornamental purposes. 

Silver is much used as a casing to copper 
utensils, on account of acids extracting a poison 



SILVER. 141 

from that metal, also to render them more pleas- 
ing to the sight. The most permanent plating is 
effected by taking two thin plates of silver and 
copper, the former in the proportion of one to 
twelve of the latter, a little powdered borax is 
placed between the two metals, to promote their 
fusion, and then after being exposed to a white 
heat, they will be found firmly united ; the 
substance is passed between rollers, till the 
whole is of the proper thickness for the intended 
manufacture. 

Silver dissolved in aqua-fortis, (nitric acid) 
yields crystals, which being afterwards melted 
in crucibles, form what is called lunar caustic, 
This preparation is of considerable value in 
surgical operations, being employed to burn 
away diseased flesh ; and also for consuming 
warts, wens, and other excrescences on the skin. 
Indelible or permanent ink, used for marking 
linen, is made by dissolving nitrate of silver 
(lunar caustic) in water, and adding gum. The 
yellow colour employed in painting porcelain is 
obtained from silver. 

Geological and Geographical Situation of Silver. 

Silver is found both native and as an ore, in 
mines and veins. America is the country richest 
in silver mines. It is also found in Saxony, 
Bohemia, Norway, Hungary, and England : 
but the mines of Mexico and Peru furnish annu- 



142 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XXXVIII. 

ally ten times more than all those of Europe 
together. So poisonous are the exhalations from 
the mines of Peru, that many thousands of 
Indians have perished in them, and the cattle 
that graze on the outside are affected by their 
malignant vapours. The quantity found in 
England is not great ; it is taken from the lead 
mines of Cumberland, Cornwall, and Yorkshire. 
A large block was found at Fryberg in Saxony, 
upon which Duke Albert took his dinner. 
When melted, it yielded 44000 pounds of pure 
silver. 

The ores of silver are very numerous, and 
various methods are employed in different coun- 
tries to separate this metal from its ore. In 
Mexico and Peru the mineral is pounded, 
roasted, washed, and then mixed with mercury 
in vessels filled with water, a mill being em- 
ployed for the purpose of more perfectly agitat- 
ing the liquid. This causes the silver to unite 
with the mercury, and then being submitted to 
heat, the latter is evaporated. The pure metal 
is afterwards melted and cast into bars or insets. 



QUICKSILVER OR MERCURY. 143 

LESSON XXXIX. 

QUICKSILVER OR MERCURY. 

Qualities. 

It is heavy. 1. 
fluid. 2. 
cold. 3. 
divisible. 4. 
1 volatile when heated, 
white. 

brilliant. 5. 
opaque. 

least tenacious of all bodies, 
dilatable by heat, 
medicinal, 
natural, 
inanimate, 
mineral. 

1. Weight. Nearly fourteen times heavier 
than water. It is the heaviest known fluid. 

2. Fluid. It always retains its fluidity in 
our temperature, but near the poles it congeals, 
and then is malleable, ductile, and tenacious. 

3. Cold. It is the coldest of all fluids, and 
the hottest when boiling. 

1 Volatile, from Lat. Vol are, to fly. 



144 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXXIX. 

4. It is capable of division, by the slightest 
effort, into an indefinite number of particles, 
each of a spherical shape. 

5. The peculiar brilliancy of metals has given 
rise to the term metallic lustre. 

Uses of Quicksilver. 

Quicksilver penetrates and softens other metals, 
losing its own fluidity, and forming a kind of 
paste called amalgam. This affinity or attraction 
that it has for other metals, makes it exceed- 
ingly useful in separating them from substances 
with which they are found combined ; they are 
drawn from their ores and unite with the mercury, 
and the latter being volatilized, the pure metal 
remains. Quicksilver is easily affected by the 
atmosphere, and is on this account used in 
Thermometers and Barometers. 1 The Ther- 
mometer is an instrument constructed in the fol- 
lowing manner : — a tube of glass, terminating in 
a hollow ball which contains mercury, is plunged 
into boiling water, which causes the mercury to 
expand and rise to a certain height. At this point, 
which is called boiling heat, the tube is broken 
off, and hermetically sealed ; 2 the freezing 

1 Barometer from Bap os (bar os) weight, and ixerp ov 
(metron) a measure. Thermometer from 6e$fi os (thermos) 
(hot.) 

2 In order to seal any thing hermetically, the neck of a 
glass tube is heated till on the point of melting, and then 
with a pair of hot pincers it is closely twisted together, by 



QUICKSILVER. 145 

point is then ascertained and marked, and the 
intervening space graduated. The Thermometer, 
by marking the expansion and contraction of the 
quicksilver, indicates the increase and decrease 
of heat and cold in the atmosphere. 

To form the Barometer, a glass tube open at 
one end, and filled with quicksilver, is plunged 
with its open end downwards into a bowl con- 
taining some of the same fluid. Part of the 
mercury in the tube flows into the vessel, leav- 
ing a space to which the air cannot gain access. 
A vacuum being thus formed, the atmosphere 
acts upon the mercury in the bowl, when heavy, 
causing it to rise in the tube, and when light, 
(the pressure being decreased,) allowing it to 
descend. The Barometer, by thus shewing the 
weight of the air, indicates the probability of 
wet or dry weather. For when the atmosphere 
is light, it no longer supports the vapour and 
clouds which float in it, and they consequently 
descend towards the earth; but when the air 
is more dense, they are borne up, and we have 
fine weather. The elevation of mountains is 
also ascertained by means of the Barometer, for 
as it is known that the rarity of the atmosphere 
increases in proportion to the ascent, the height 
is easily calculated. 

which means the air is excluded. Hermetically, is derived 
from Hermes, the deity of ancient mythology who was 
thought to preside over the arts and sciences, particularly 
chemistry. 



146 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XXXIX. 

Quicksilver is also used for coating mirrors?. 
The process is effected in the following manner : 
a sheet of tin-foil the size of the plate of glass 
is placed evenly on a smooth block of stone, 
over this is poured some quicksilver, which is 
carefully spread upon it with a feather or rubber 
of linen. Tin in amalgamating with mercury, 
quickly forms an oxide of a black appearance ; 
this being removed, more of the fluid is poured 
upon it. The glass is then held horizontally, 
and carefully slid over the amalgam, sweeping 
before it the superfluous mercury, and any more 
oxide that may have formed. Weights are 
then placed upon the glass, and after having 
remained several days, the mixture adheres 
firmly and forms the mirror. 

Vermillion used in colouring sealing-wax, and 
the medicine called calomel, are preparations 
of this metal. 

Geographical and Geological situation of 
Quicksilver. 

Quicksilver is found in the native state, as 
globules, in the cavities of mines ; but it is most 
frequently combined with sulphur, forming the 
mineral called Cinnabar, which is of a red colour. 

The quicksilver mines of Idria are said to 
yield annually 100 tons ; those of Spain still 
more ; but the mines .of Peru are the richest. 

The mines of Idria were accidentally dis- 



LEAD. 147 

covered about thee hundred years since. That 
part of the country was then much inhabited by 
coopers ; one of the men, when retiring from 
work in the evening, placed a new tub under a 
dropping spring, to try if it would hold water, 
andj when he came in the morning he found it 
so heavy that he could scarcely move it. On 
examination, he perceived a shining ponderous 
fluid at the bottom, which proved to be quick- 
silver. When this circumstance was made 
known, a society was formed to discover and 
work the mine from whence the mercury had 
issued. In some parts of the mine it flows in 
small streams, so that in six hours as much as 
thirty-six pounds have been collected : in other 
parts it is found diffused in small globules. 



LESSON XL. 

LEAD. 

Qualities. 

It is heavy. 1 . 
fusible. 2. 

bright, when first melted or cut. 
malleable, 
ductile, 
very soft. 3. 
pliable. 

L 2 



148 FIFTH SERIES — LESSON XL. 

It is livid, blueish grey. 

easily calcined, that is, reduced by 
heat to a friable substance, 

solid. 

sometimes amorphous. 

sometimes crystallized. 

opaque. 

mineral. 

liable to tarnish. 4. 

inelastic. 

natural. 
It makes a grey streak on paper. 
It boils and evaporates at a great heat. 

1. Heavy. It is eleven times heavier than 
water ; rather heavier than silver. 

2. It melts at a much lower temperature than 
the other metals. 

3. It is the softest of all metals. 

4. Lead is not much altered by being exposed 
either to air or water, though the brightness of 
its surface is soon lost. Probably a thin stra- 
tum of oxide is formed on the surface which 
defends the rest of the metal from corrosion. 

Use of Lead. 

The calx l of lead is the basis of many colours, 
which are obtained from it by different degrees 

1 Calx is the dross formed on the surface of lead when 
fused. This name is applied by chemists to those sub- 
stances which have been reduced by burning to a friable 



LEAD. 149 

of heat. Red lead and white lead, so much 
used in paints, are the calces of lead. They 
are soluble in oil, are all very poisonous, and 
occasion the ill health to which painters are 
subject. Any acid will extract a poison from 
lead, and therefore the use of it should be 
avoided in culinary operations. It is employed 
in glazing and pottery. 

When rolled between iron cylinders to a 
requisite and uniform degree of thinness, lead is 
employed to cover the roofs of houses and 
churches ; but in case of fire, its melting is 
attended with much danger. It is also used for 
gutters and pipes of houses, and for cisterns and 
reservoirs for water, because it does not rust. 

The great softness of lead, and the ease with 
which it is fused, are the 'properties which have 
brought it so much into use. The persons who 
work it are called plumbers. 1 The solder they 
use as a cement, is an alloy of lead and tin, in 
the proportion of two parts of the former to one 
of the latter. 

Great quantities of lead are consumed in 
making shot. The metal for this purpose is 
alloyed with arsenic, to render it more hard and 
brittle, and capable of assuming a perfectly 
spherical shape. Shot are formed by dropping 

state. The operation by which this effect is produced is 
called calcination. It is more general now to term metallic 
bodies when calcined, Oxides. 

1 Plumb er, from the Latin plumb um, lead. 



150 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XL. 

the melted alloy into water from a considerable 
height, through an iron or copper frame, per- 
forated with round holes, which are larger or 
smaller according to the required size of the 
shot. Mixed with antimony, lead is used for 
printing-types ; and with tin and copper, it 
forms pewter. 

Geological and Geographical situation of Lead. 

Lead abounds in England and Wales, parti- 
cularly in the counties of Derby, Northumber- 
land, Somerset, Cornwall, and Devon. It is 
plentiful also in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, 
France, and America. It has lately been im- 
ported in such quantities from Spain, as greatly 
to lower its price in England. It is very much 
doubted whether it is ever found native ; it 
occurs frequently combined with sulphur, when 
it is called galena. 

It is supposed that some of our lead mines, 
which are perhaps the most important in the 
world, were worked by the Romans. When 
the ore is brought out of the mines it is sorted 
and washed, to free it from dirt and rubbish ; it 
is then spread, and the best pieces separated. 
After the ore, by picking and washing, has been 
sufficiently cleansed from extraneous matter, it 
is roasted l in a kind of kiln, to free it from 

1 Roasting is the process by which the volatile parts of an 
ore are evaporated. Smelting is that by which the pure 



COPPER. 151 

the sulphur usually combined with it. The next 
process is to mix it with a quantity of coke, 
and submit it to the smelting furnace. In 
this there are tapholes, which, when the lead is 
melted, are opened, to allow it to run in a fluid 
state into an iron vessel. The dross which floats 
on its surface is skimmed off, and the metal is 
taken out by ladles, and poured into cast-iron 
moulds with round ends. It is then called pig 
lead, and is fit for use. 

LESSON XLI. 

COPPER. 

Qualities. 

It is heavy. 1. 
tenacious. 2. 
very sonorous. 3. 
fusible. 4. 
elastic. 5. 

capable of extreme divisibility. (3. 
malleable, 
ductile, 
compact. 

metal is separated from the earthy particles combined with 
it in the ore. This is done by throwing the whole into a 
furnace, and mixing with it substances that will combine 
with the earthy parts ; the metal being the heaviest, falls 
to the bottom, and runs out by the proper openings, in its 
pure metallic state. 



152 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLI. 

It is opaque. 

orange brown colour. 

mineral. 

sometimes crystallized. 

sometimes amorphous. 

brilliant. 

reflective. 

sapid. 

hard. 

odorous. 

solid. 

medicinal. 

easily corroded. 

1. Heavy. Copper is eight times heavier 
than water. 

2. Tenacious. A wire one tenth of an inch 
in thickness, will support two hundred and 
ninety-nine pounds and a half without breaking. 

3. It is the most deeply sonorous of all metals. 

4. It is more easily fused than iron, but less 
so than gold or silver. 

5. It is the most elastic metal, next to iron. 

6. A grain dissolved in ammonia, will give a 
perceptible colour to more than 500,000 times 
its weight of water. 

The uses of Copper, 

The uses of copper are numerous and im- 
portant. When rolled into sheets between iron 



COPPER. 153 

cylinders, it is used to cover the roofs of houses, 
especially arsenals and manufactories, where there 
is liability to fire. The bottoms of ships are 
coppered in order to make them sail faster, and 
to prevent shell-fish from perforating the wood. 
Copper is much used for cooking utensils, but 
great care is necessary, for should any acid or 
even water be allowed to stand some time in the 
vessels, a poison is extracted ; but while boiling, 
this evil does not arise. It is customary, in 
order to prevent any danger, to line copper 
vessels with tin. Copper is used in the manu- 
factories of gunpowder, because it does not, 
like iron, give out sparks by collision. Plates 
of copper are sometimes engraved with a 
sharp instrument called a burin; sometimes 
they are corroded with aqua fortis ; 1 in the 
latter case, the copper is covered with wax, 
on which the design is sketched with a pointed 
instrument, the aqua fortis reaches the copper 
just in those places where the wax has been 
removed by the sketching, and eats into it. 
Verdigris is a rust of copper, usually made from 
that metal by corroding it with vinegar. There 
is a large manufactory at Montpelier in France, 
where verdigris is prepared in the following- 
manner : — copper-plates and husks of grapes 
are placed alternately one upon another; the 
latter speedily corrode the surface of the metal. 
1 Aqua fortis (strong water) is nitric acid diluted with 
water. 



154 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLI. 

The verdigris thus formed, is scraped off as it 
collects on the copper; it is afterwards dried, 
and packed in casks or bags. It is chiefly 
employed in dying, and is a most virulent poison. 
There are several alloys of copper. Brass is the 
most important ; it is compounded of zinc and 
copper, in the proportion of three parts of the 
former to one of the latter. This is a very beau- 
tiful and useful substance ; it does not rust so 
easily as copper; is more ductile than either that 
metal or iron, and is therefore used in the construc- 
tion of musical and mathematical instruments, 
and in clock-work. Sieves and blinds are woven 
of brass wire of extreme fineness. Brass is used 
both for purposes of ornament and use. Copper 
alloyed with tin forms Bronze ; it is remark- 
able that when these two metals are melted 
together, the compound so produced is heavier 
than the weight of the two metals taken sepa- 
rately. Bronze is very useful from its being 
extremely hard, durable, and sonorous: it is 
fabricated into cannon-balls, statutes, &c. The 
metal of which cannon are made is also an alloy 
of copper with tin. Bell-metal consists of three 
parts copper and one tin. 



Geographical and Geological situation of Copper. 

Copper is found in Sweden, Saxony, America, 
and Great Britain. It was one of the metals 



COPPER. 155 

earliest known : the Bible mentions workers in 
brass before the flood. 

It is found in a great variety of forms ; some- 
times in masses of pure metal, but more frequently 
combined with other substances, particularly 
sulphur. The copper mines of Anglesea are 
very productive ; they are situated on the top 
of a mountain, and form an enormous cavity 
more than 500 yards long, 100 broad, and 100 
deep. The ore is obtained from the mine either 
by pick- axes, or by blasting the rock with gun- 
powder. It is then broken with a hammer into 
small pieces, an operation which chiefly employs 
women and children. After this, it is piled on 
a kiln, to the upper parts of which flues are 
attached, that communicate with sulphur cham- 
bers. The kiln is covered, and the fires lighted 
in different parts, that the ore may undergo the 
process of roasting. The whole mass gradually 
kindles, and the sulphur which is combined 
with the ore being expelled in fumes by the heat, 
is conveyed through the flues to the sulphur 
chamber. This process occupies from three to 
ten months, according to the size of the kilns. 
When the operation is complete, or the ore is 
freed from the sulphur, it is submitted to the 
smelting houses, where by the intense heat it 
undergoes, the pure metal is forced off in a 
fluid state. 



156 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLII. 



LESSON XLII. 

IRON. 

Qualities. 

It is elastic. 1. 
ductile. 2. 
heavy. 3. 
tenacious. 4. 
malleable, 
liable to rust, 
sonorous, 
mineral, 
fusible, 
hard. 

livid grey-colour, 
bright, 
reflective, 
solid. 

susceptible of a high polish, 
cold. 

sometimes amorphous, 
sometimes crystallized. 

1. In the state of steel it is the most elastic 
of all metals. 

2. Iron is more ductile than gold ; it may be 
drawn into a wire as fine as the human hair. 



IRON. 157 

3. It is the lightest of the common metals 
except tin ; between seven and eight times 
heavier than water. 

4. Most tenacious of the metals. A wire 
about one-tenth of an inch in diameter will 
support 650 pounds without breaking. 

Uses of Iron. 

Iron is the most useful of all metals, and man 
very early became acquainted with its value. 
Moses speaks of furnaces of iron and of the 
ores from which it was extracted. By means 
of this metal the earth has been cultivated, 
houses and cities built, and without it few arts 
could be practised. Iron is very abundant in 
nature, but it is always found mixed with some 
other substance. It is then called iron-stone. 
Sometimes it is combined with clay, at other 
times with lime, or with flint. In order to 
separate the iron from its ore, intense heat is 
required ; either pure clay, lime or silex remain 
stubborn in the hottest fires, but when mixed in 
proper proportions, the one assists in the fusion 
of the other ; therefore there is always thrown 
into the furnace with the iron-stone, some earth 
that will combine with that in the iron-stone. 
The intense heat of the furnace is kept up by 
means of a continual supply of air, rushing into 
it from immense bellows, worked by machinery. 
The lime, clay, or flint, unite and form a kind 



158 FIFTH SERIES, — LESSON XLII. 

of slag which floats on the surface. At the 
same time the carbon, or pure charcoal of the 
fuel, aided by the limestone, melts the iron, 
which being heavier than the other substances, 
falls to the bottom of the furnace, and remains 
there till the workmen let it out by a hole made 
at the bottom of the furnace, and plugged with 
sand. When the workman judges that there is 
a sufficient quantity of the iron fused, he dis- 
places the plug with an iron rod, and the melted 
iron runs out like a stream of liquid fire, and is 
conveyed into furrows made in sand, where it 
cools ; the pieces formed in the principal furrows 
are called sows, those in the smaller furrows 
branching from them, pigs. In this state it 
takes the name of cast iron, and from the pro- 
cess it has undergone it is become extremely 
hard, and having lost its tenacity, it resists the 
hammer and the file, and is very brittle ; it is 
of a dark grey or blackish colour. It is used 
for the backs of chimnies, grates, boilers, pipes, 
rail-roads, common cannon balls, &c. 

Cast iron is converted into wrought iron by a 
process called blooming ; it is thrown into a 
furnace and kept melted by fire, it remains in 
this situation for about two hours, a workman 
being continually employed in stirring it, till by 
means of the heat of the air in the furnace, the 
greater part of the carbon is burnt out of it. 
It thus acquires by degrees consistency and 
tenacity, and congeals into a mass. It is taken 



IRON. 159 

out of the furnace whilst hot, and violently 
beaten by a large hammer, worked by ma- 
chinery ; in this manner it is formed into bars 
of iron. The value of wrought iron in ma- 
chinery, and tools of all descriptions, is in- 
calculable. 

Steel is prepared from wrought iron in the 
following manner ; the bars of iron are kept in 
contact with ignited charcoal for several hours 
in earthen crucibles, from which the air is 
excluded. Steel, if heated to redness, and 
then suffered to cool slowly, becomes soft and 
pliable ; if plunged while hot into cold water, 
it is rendered susceptible of a high polish, and 
acquires such extreme hardness as even to 
scratch glass, while at the same time it becomes 
elastic and brittle. Its softness and ductility 
may however be restored by heating it again 
and cooling it slowly. Steel varies in colour 
under the influence of heat; first it assumes a 
straw colour, then a light yellow ; purple, violet, 
red, deep blue succeed, and last of all a bright 
blue. These hues indicate the different tempers 
which steel acquires, from that proper for com- 
mon files, to that requisite for the finely elastic 
springs of watches. Steel is used for all kinds 
of edged tools, in which keenness is necessary, 
it is also much employed for ornamental pur- 
poses, on account of the elegant polish which 
it is capable of taking. In medicine, steel is 
valuable as a tonic. Waters which pass over 



160 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLII. 

iron and become impregnated with it, are called 
chalybeate l waters ; those of Tunbrige and 
Hampstead are of this nature. Steel is a 
combination of iron, and a small portion of 
carbon. Cast iron contains a greater portion 
of carbon, and is probably saturated with it. 
Cast iron is converted into wrought iron, by 
burning away the carbon, and wholly depriving 
it of its oxygen. 

Plumbago, or black lead, which is employed 
in the manufacture of pencils, is an ore of iron, 
containing nine parts of carbon to one of the 
metal ; sufficient is found in Cumberland to 
supply the trade of England. The bronze 
colour used in Porcelain painting is an oxide 
of iron. Meteoric stones, which have been the 
subject of so much conjecture, and which are 
sometimes believed to be ejected from volcanoes 
in the moon, are native iron ; a fine specimen on 
the stairs of the British Museum has been cut to 
shew this. 

Iron is very valuable from the magnetical 
properties it may acquire. By these it enables 
the mariner to steer across the ocean, the travel- 
ler to direct his course with safety in the pathless 
desert, and the miner to guide his researches 
after subterraneous treasures. The loadstone or 
natural magnet, is an oxide of iron ; it com- 
municates its powers to bars of iron or steel, 

1 Chalyb eate from % a ^ V} P (chalyb s) iron. 



IRON. 161 

when placed in contact with them. The arti- 
ficial magnet is now always used ; as it possesses 
and retains all the properties of the loadstone. 
The qualities which render it useful, are, its 
attracting iron, and its polarity, or the power 
by which it points to the poles when freely 
suspended. One end invariably turns to the 
North, and the other to the South, except 
when it approaches the pole ; there the direc- 
tive power ceases altogether, which circum- 
stance constitutes one of the great difficulties in 
navigating the Arctic Seas. 

Geological amd Geographical situation of Iron. 

Iron is the most universally diffused of the 
metals. It is found in every country, in greater 
or less quantites ; but England, France, Sweden 
and Russia, are richer in this metal than the 
other parts of Europe. It is very rarely met 
with in a native state, but generally as an 
oxide, or in combination with Sulphuric or 
Carbonic Acid. 



M 



162 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XLITI. 

LESSON XLIII. 

TIN. 

Qualities. 

It is is heavy. 1. 

soft. 2. 

malleable. 3. 

ductile. 

fusible. 

white. 

opaque. 

solid. 

brilliant. 

very little elastic. 

pliable. 

easily calcined. 

natural. 

mineral. 

reflective. 

sonorous, makes a crackling noise. 

dilatable by heat. 

1. It is seven times heavier than water : yet 
the lightest of the ductile metals. 

2. It is softer than silver, but harder than 
lead. 

3. Tin may be beaten into sheets the 1000th 
part of an inch in thickness. 



TIN. 163 

Uses of Tin. 

Tin is chiefly employed in the manufacture of 
culinary utensils; they are not however made 
of solid tin, but of what is called tin-plate, which 
is thus prepared. Thin iron plates are first 
cleansed completely, by washing them in water 
and sand; they are then dipped into melted tin, 
afterwards steeped in water acidulated with 
sulphuric acid. This process causes the tin not 
only to cover the surface of the iron plate, but 
to penetrate it so that the whole mass becomes 
of a whitish colour. Pins are made of brass 
wire tinned. When the pin is formed, a vessel 
is filled with strata or layers of tin plates 
between the brass pins, the vessel is then filled 
with water and some tartaric acid, by means 
of which the tin is dissolved ; after five or six 
hours boiling, the pins are found uniformly 
tinned. It is the zinc of the brass which has an 
affinity for the tin and forms the union which 
takes place. The pins are afterwards polished ; 
they are thrown into a tub containing a quan- 
tity of bran, which is set in motion by the turning 
of a shaft in the centre, the friction which the 
pins thus undergo renders them perfectly bright. 
The uses of tin in domestic purposes are very 
various, particularly when laid over other metals, 
as in stirrups, buckles, &c. The oxide of tin is 
used in dying. 

M 2 



164 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XLIII. 

Tin forms alloys with several other metals. 
These compounds have been mentioned before; 
as bell-metal, pewter, bronze. Tin leaves, 
amalgamated with mercury, are used for silver- 
ing and plating other metals. 

Geographical and Geological situation of Tin. 

England, Germany, Chili, and Mexico, pro- 
duce the largest quantity of this metal. The 
tin mines of Cornwall were well known to the 
ancients ; and the Phoenicians are said to have 
traded with the Britons for it long before the 
birth of our Saviour. Native tin is never found, 
and its ore is of less common occurrence than 
that of iron. It occurs as an oxide, or mixed 
with sulphur and copper : chiefly in veins run- 
ning through granite and other rocks. When it 
is taken from the mine, it is broken into small 
pieces, and streams of water are passed over it, 
to free it from the earthy particles with which 
it is intermixed; it is then roasted and smelted, 
when the metal is poured out into quadrangular 
moulds of stone, and receives the name of block 
tin. 



COMPARISON OF METALS. 165 



LESSON XLIV. 

COMPARISON OF METALS. 

Gold, a perfect metal, is the most precious. 

most compact. 

heaviest. 
Its weight is between nineteen and twenty times 
that of water. 

Silver, a perfect metal, is next in value to 
gold, and more useful ; its weight between ten 
and eleven times that of water. 

Quicksilver is fluid. 

easily volatilized. 

immalleable. 
Its weight is between thirteen and fourteen times 
that of water. 

Copper is the most sonorous. 

elastic except iron. 
Its weight is between eight and nine times that 
of water. 

Iron is the most elastic. 

tenacious. 

useful. 

ductile. 
Its weight is between seven and eight times that 
of water. 



166 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLV. 

Lead is the softest. 

most easily fused. 
Its weight is between eleven and twelve times 
that of water. 

Tin next to lead, is the softest of the metals ; 
it dilates most by heat ; it is the lightest, its 
weight being only seven times that of water. 



LESSON XLV. 



ON METALS IN GENERAL. 

Metals are simple elementary bodies, distin- 
guished by being heavier than all other sub- 
stances ; by possessing a peculiar lustre which 
is called the metallic lustre; by reflecting light 
and heat ; by their being opaque, fusible, mal- 
leable, tenacious, ductile, and generally elastic. 
Upon this last quality seems to depend their 
fitness for exciting sound, or sonorousness. 
Metals are capable of uniting with one another 
in a state of fusion ; this union is called an alloy. 
It is remarkable that by these combinations, 
metals undergo a considerable change in their 
properties, and acquire new ones not belonging 
to either of them when not united. Thus the 
weight of the alloy, or the two metals in com- 
bination, is sometimes very different from the 



METALS IN GENERAL. 167 

weight of both the metals taken separately : an 
alloy of silver with copper or tin, or one of silver 
or gold with lead is heavier than the same quan- 
tities of those metals uncombined. Their 
ductility aud malleability are changed and 
generally impaired, the alloy becoming brittle, 
This is very remarkably the case with gold and 
lead when united, the latter of which, even in the 
trivial proportion of half a grain to an ounce of 
gold, renders the mass quite destitute of tenacity. 

The hardness of metals is varied by combina- 
tion. Gold, being united with a small quan- 
tity of copper, and silver, with a minute pro- 
portion of the same metal, acquire such an 
increase of hardness, that these additions are 
always made to gold or silver which is to be 
exposed to wear. By a small addition of gold, 
iron is said to gain so much hardness, as to be 
even superior to steel for the fabrication of 
cutting instruments. 

Change of colour is a common effect of the 
union of metals with each other. Arsenic, for 
example, which resembles steel, and copper, 
which has a red colour, afford by their union a 
compound, which has nearly the whiteness of 
silver. 

In order to ascertain how far the children have 
retained the knowledge communicated to them 
in these lessons, the following questions may be 
given to them to answer in writing : — 



168 FIFTH SERIES. 



QUESTIONS ON THE METALS. 



GOLD. 

1. What are the chief qualities of gold ? 

2. What is its weight ? 

3. Give a proof of its ductility. 

4. tenacity. 

5. malleability. 

6. Upon what other quality does its mallea- 
bility depend ? 

7. What qualities are directly opposed to 
malleability? 

8. What is an alloy ? 

9. Why is gold alloyed for the purpose of 
coinage ? 

10. What metal is used as its alloy ? and in 
what proportion ? 

11. How are buttons gilt? 

12. Describe the manner of forming leaf gold. 

13. In what state is gold found ? 

14. What is an ore ? 

15. What is meant by a native metal ? 

16. In what countries is gold found ? 

17. What people employ themselves in se- 
parating it from the sands of the European 



QUESTIONS ON THE METALS. 169 



SILVER. 

1. What are the chief properties of silver? 

2. What is its weight ? 

3. What degree of tenacity does it possess ? 

4. What are the chief uses of silver ? 

5. Upon what qualities do the uses of silver 
depend ? 

6. Describe the operation of plating. 

7. What is lunar caustic ? and what are its 
uses? 

8. Give a geopraphical and geological account 
of silver. 

9. Why are gold and silver called perfect 
metals ? 



QUICKSILVER. 

1. What are the uses and properties of quick- 
silver ? 

2. What is its weight ? 

3. In what respect is it remarkable as a liquid ? 

4. What effect does heat produce upon it ? 

5. Under what circumstances does a change 
in its qualities take place ? and what is the 
change ? 

6. What is an amalgam ? 

7. Mention the uses of quicksilver. 



170 FIFTH SERIES. 

8. What are the properties that tit it for 
a barometer ? 

9. What for a thermometer ? 

10. How is a barometer made? and what 
is its use ? 

11. How is a thermometer made? and what 
is its use ? 

12. What colour is obtained from quicksilver ? 

13. Where is quicksilver found ? 

14. What circumstance led to the discovery 
of the mines of Idria ? 



LEAD. 

1. What are the remarkable qualities of lead ? 

2. What is its weight ? 

3. What are the different effects which heat 
produces on lead ? 

4. What are the chief uses of lead ? 

5. Why is it used for reservoirs of water ? 

6. How are shot made ? 

7. What is the use of the oxides of lead ? 

8. What are its alloys ? 

9. In what state is lead found ? 

10. What is lead called when found united 
with sulphur ? 

11. Where is lead most abundant ? 

12. Describe the process of roasting and 
smelting. 



QUESTIONS ON THE METALS. 171 



COPPER. 

1. What are the chief qualities of copper ? 

2. What is its weight, and what its degree 
of tenacity ? 

3. How is it proved to be capable of extreme 
divisibility ? 

4. What are the uses of copper ? 

4. What is verdigris ? and how is it made ? 

6. What is the danger incurred by employing 
copper in kitchen utensils ? 

7. What are the alloys of copper ? 

8. In what respect is brass preferable to 
copper ? 

9. Where is copper found, and in what states ? 

10. Describe the copper mines in Anglesea, 
and the manner of extracting the metal from 
the ore. 



IRON. 

1. What are the chief qualities of iron ? 

2. What quality does it possess in a higher 
degree than any other metal ? 

3. What is its weight and tenacity? 

4. What are the different states in which iron 
is used ? 

5. How is cast iron prepared ? 



172 FIFTH SERIES. 

6. What are its qualities and uses ? 

7. How is wrought iron prepared ? 

8. What are its qualities and uses ? 

9. How is steel prepared ? 

10. What are its qualities and uses ? 

11 . What is meant by the temper of steel ? 

12. What is plumbago? and what quality 
makes it useful ? 

13. What is the geographical situation of iron ? 
and in what state is it found ? 



TIN. 

1. What are the chief qualities of tin ? 

2. What are the uses of tin ? 

3. How is it prepared for use ? 

4. How are pius tinned ? 

5. What is block tin ? 

6. Where is tin found ? 



LIME. 173 



ON EARTHS. 
LESSON XLVI. 

LIME. 

The substance called Lime is never found pure 
in nature, owing to its great affinity for carbonic 
acid * and for water. All the earths of which 
lime forms the basis, are called calcareous.' 2 It 
is the most universally diffused of all substances, 
and one of the most abundant ; it is computed 
that it constitutes one eighth of the crust of the 
earth. In this distribution we have great cause 
to admire the wise and good providence of the 
Creator, as the utility of lime in various arts, in 
agriculture, in manufactures, and in medicine, 
is very great. Lime united with carbonic acid, 
forms common lime-stone, chalk, marble, &c. ; 
with sulphuric acid, it constitutes gypsum or 
alabaster; and with fluoric acid, fluor or Derby- 
shire spar. These are its most interesting com- 

1 Carbon is charcoal in its purest and colourless state ; 
it is most abundant in the vegetable kingdom, and is 
chiefly obtained from wood. The diamond is the only- 
pure carbon that is known. United with oxygen, carbon 
forms carbonic acid. 

2 Calcareous, from Latin calx, lime. 



174 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XLVI. 

binations with mineral substances. It enters 
also into the composition of animal matter, as 
shells, bones, and the hard coverings of insects ; 
our bones contain 8 parts in 10 lime ; and the 
shells of birds' eggs, 9 parts in 10. 

Pure lime is procured from chalk, or lime- 
stone, by means of burning. Alternate layers 
of calcareous earth and fuel are arranged in a 
kiln ; a fire being kindled, the carbonic acid and 
water become volatilized, and are driven off, 
leaving the lime pure. It this state it is called 
quick lime, and is white, caustic, acrid, pungent, 
infusible ; corroding and destroying animal mat- 
ter. When water is poured upon it, it swells, 
falls into a powder, and gives out great heat. 
This last operation is called slacking the lime. 
The water combining with the lime becomes 
solid, and the heat is occasioned by its changing 
from a fluid to a solid state, for in doing this it 
parts with some of its caloric. The uses of lime 
are numeroi s and important. It is formed into 
mortar, the cement used in building. The lime 
being slacked, is made into a paste by tempering 
it with water ; to this is added sand, and some- 
times chopped hairs; as it dries, it becomes 
solid, hard, and durable. Examples have been 
known of buildings a thousand years old, in 
which the mortar is as hard as the stones which 
it unites. 

Lime is used as a manure to loosen soils 
which are too tenacious, and to render them 



LIME. 175 

more friable and capable of receiving vegetable 
fibres ; it also hastens the dissolution and putre- 
faction of animal and vegetable substances of 
which mould is chiefly composed, and gives it 
the power of acquiring and retaining moisture, 
so necessary to the growth of vegetables. Lime 
is also employed in the manufacture of sugar, 
to deprive it of a portion of its acid. Tanners 
use it in removing hairs from the hides, and 
cleansing them from fat and grease. 

Carbonate of Lime. 

Lime occurs most frequently combined with 
carbonic acid in different proportions. The 
generic term for these substances is Carbonate of 
Lime. They vary much in appearance, but 
all agree in the following properties; they 
readily yield to the knife ; neutralize acids, (the 
characteristic properties of each being destroyed ;) 
and have a weight two or three times greater 
than that of water. 

The most common carbonate of lime is lime- 
stone, it occurs in almost every country, and 
forms hills of some eminence ; it is very abun- 
dant in England ; it is used for making mortar, 
forming roads, &c. Different kinds of lime- 
stone are used in building, as Portland stone, 
Oolite. The former has been much employed 
in several of the principal buildings in London, 
as St. Paul's, the Monument, and some of the 



176 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLVI. 

bridges. Some limestones are soft, when first 
taken from the quarry, but become hard when 
long exposed to the air. 

Calcareous spar is the purest carbonate of 
lime, it occurs both amorphous and crystalized, 
is transparent, shows a double refraction, and 
takes the form of the rhombohedron, occurring, 
in eight hundred varieties of this figure. Car- 
bonate of lime is often found in stalactites : 
these are long pendulous masses deposited from 
water loaded with particles of carbonate of 
lime, which trickles through fissures in rocks, or 
crevices in the roofs of caverns, &c. the water 
evaporates and the particles of lime gradually 
harden ; drop succeeds drop, till a long irregular 
tube is suspended of a most grotesque appear- 
ance. When carbonate of lime occurs of a very 
close-grained texture, it is called marble : being 
susceptible of a high polish, it is much used for 
ornamental purposes, as chimney-pieces, pillars 
and statuary. 

Chalk is another carbonate of lime, not so 
generally occurring as limestone, but very abun- 
dant in the south-eastern counties of England, 
along which it stretches in a continued line. It 
forms hills of a moderate elevation, character- 
ized by their gentle slopes and rounded summits, 
arising from this substance being of too soft a 
nature to resist the action of the weather. There 
are two beds of chalk ; the upper one distin- 
guished by containing parallel horizontal layers 



LIME. 177 

of flint, with many petrifactions ; and the lower 
by being destitute of both. Chalk is white, 
dull, friable, meagre to the touch, adheres to 
the tongue, is of an earthly fracture ; always 
amorphous, and opaque. Tt is usually dug from 
pits; but in some parts of Kent the workmen 
undermine the sides of the hill, then dig a trench 
which is filled with water ; this soaking in, 
loosens the masses, which consequently fall. 
Most of the uses of chalk are nearly the same 
as those of limestone ; when freed from its 
coarser particles, it forms whiting. 

Water impregnated with calcareous sub- 
stances, is occasionally deposited on vegetables, 
clothing them with a stony coat ; this incrusta- 
tion is called Tufa. 

Sulphate of Lime. 

Gypsum is a sulphate of lime : it is much 
softer than marble, and more easily worked ; it 
is sometimes of a beautiful transparent whiteness, 
when it is called alabaster, and is made into 
vases and other ornaments. The gypsum, which 
is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Paris, 
is of a yellowish colour. When heated it pul- 
verizes, and water poured over it, is quickly 
absorbed, forming a paste which dries and 
hardens very rapidly. This is the Plaster of 
Paris so much used for casts, statues, Sec. 

N 



178 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLVII. 

When mixed with a glutinous substance, it forms 
stucco and plaster. 

When gypsum occurs crystallized it is called 

iielenite. 



Fluate of Lime. 

Lime combined with fluoric acid is called 
Fluate of Lime, or Fluor. It is very abundant 
in Derbyshire. It is formed into very beautiful 
ornaments, and is much used in the smelting of 
the ores of copper. 



LESSON XLVII. 

SILICA. 

A large number of the rocks with which the 
earth abounds, and a great proportion of com- 
pound earthy substances and minerals, have 
silex for their chief ingredient. It seems to 
form the solid basis of the crust of the globe, 
giving firmness and durability to the mountains, 
by which they have resisted the various revolu- 
tions that the earth has undergone. It is found 
in its greatest purity in rock-crystal and quartz. 
It is the basis of almost all the mineral sub- 
stances, which are sufficiently hard to strike fire 
with steel. These substances are called silicious, 






SILICA. 179 

from the latin silex, a flint, because flint is almost 
entirely composed of silicious earth. Silex 
forms a large portion of granite, and enters in 
considerable proportion into the composition of 
slate ; it is also the substance which constitutes 
sand, and generally the shingle of the sea-shore. 
It is very hard, striking fire with steel, and 
scratching glass ; it has neither taste nor smell ; 
when perfectly pure, ( in which state it is, how- 
ever, never found in nature ) it is infusible, but 
when heated with an alkali, it unites with it, 
melts, and forms glass. In consequence of this 
property, silica has also been called verifiable 
earth, from vitrum, the latin for glass. It is not 
affected by any of the acids except the fluoric. 

Common sand is a granulated silex, generally 
of a white, red, or yellow colour. In the torrid 
regions of Africa and Asia, there are immense 
tracts of desert covered only with sand so fine 
and dry as to be moveable with the wind, and 
forming into waves like those of the sea. The 
wind sweeping the sand from the surface con- 
tinually, the successive waves form mountains 
of sand. These are incessantly shifting, and 
often overwhelm the travelling caravans. Sand 
is of great utility. It enters into the composi- 
tion of mortar. It produces the vitrification of 
glass and porcelain. In agriculture, it is valued 
as a manure ; it gives lightness to clayish and 
heavy soils, and assists in the work of filtration. 

Sandstone is formed of grains of silex cemented 
N 2 



180 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON XLVIII. 

together, producing a solid rock, though often 
of a very friable nature. 

Common flint contains of silica ninety-seven 
parts in one hundred. It is generally of a greyish 
colour, approaching often to black ; it is opaque, 
but translucent at its edges. It strikes fire by 
collision, and is on this account used in gun- 
locks. From its being one of the hardest sub- 
stances in nature, it is often taken as an emblem 
of firmness or obduracy. It is found principally 
Jn beds or strata, in chalk formations. It is 
used in the manufacture of glass and porcelain, 
in the construction of buildings and walls, and 
it also forms excellent roads. 



LESSON XLVIII. 

ALUMINE OR ARGIL. 

This substance obtained the name of Alumine, 
from its forming the base of common alum, and 
argil, 1 on account of its being the constituent 
of all clays, which are therefore termed argilla- 
ceous earths. Their distinguishing qualities are, 
that they have an earthy texture, give out a 
peculiar odour when breathed upon, which has 
been thence called the argillaceous odour : they 

1 Argil, from Latin Argil la, clay. 



ALUMINE OR ARGIL. 181 

adhere to the tongue : are never found crystal, 
lized, but sometimes slaty : are generally opaque, 
and their weight is about twice as great as that 
of water. When tempered with water, most 
argillaceous substances become soft, tenacious, 
and plastic ; 1 but shrink and harden by the 
application of heat. Alumine is never found 
pure in nature, it is considered to be the most 
plentiful earth next to silex. 

Common clay is a nearly equal admixture or 
alumine and silex : it is found in most coun_ 
tries, and is very valuable in various arts ; for 
these it is peculiarly fitted, as it may be moulded 
into any form, which it retains unchanged after 
exposure to heat. The beds of lakes, ponds, 
and springs, are almost entirely of clay ; instead 
©fallowing the filtration of water, as sand does, 
it forms an impenetrable bottom, and by this 
means water is accumulated in the caverns of 
the earth, producing those natural reservoirs? 
whence springs issue and spout out at the surface* 
Clayey soils, in consequence of their absorbing 
and retaining moisture, are heavy and sticky. 

Clay is often used by the poorest classes of 
society, in forming their cottages. Loam is an 
argillaceous substance, containing a great pro- 
portion of sand, and is generally found upon a 
bed of sand. It is the substance of which 
bricks and tiles are constructed ; when well 

1 Plastic, from TrXacrir eiv (pkss eiri) to form. 



182 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLVIII. 

baked in a kiln, or in the sun, it becomes very 
hard and durable. A proof of this is furnished 
in the existence at the present day of those 
mighty Egyptian Pyramids, which many sup- 
pose to have been the work of the Israelites in 
their bondage. 

Porcelain Clay is that employed in our china 
manufactories ; it absorbs moisture rapidly, and 
becomes very tenacious when kneaded. It is 
distinguished from other clays by the fineness 
of its texture, its friability and meagre touch. 
A coarser kind called Potter's Clay, is used in 
making common earthenware. 

Another description of clay, of a plastic 
nature, is called Pipe Clay from its being used 
in the manufacture of pipes: it is cast into a 
cylindrical mould, a wire being afterwards run 
through it to form the hollow through which the 
fumes of the tobacco are inhaled ; when baked 
it becomes hard and white. This clay is also 
used in extracting grease out of different sub- 
stances. Fuller s earth is another argillaceous 
substance similarly employed. 

The soil or mould which covers our fields 
and gardens, contain more or less of these three 
substances, alumine, silica, and lime. These 
occur in very different proportions; a mix- 
ture of all forms the best soil, each correcting 
and keeping within their due proportion the 
o^alities of the other ; thus in a clayey soil, 



QUESTIONS ON THE EARTHS. 183 

filtration is carried on by means of sand, while 
clay on the other hand gives consistency to a 
sandy soil, and lime loosens the texture of heavy 
lands, and corrects the coldness occasioned 
by their retaining water. The fertilizing pro- 
perty of our soils, however, greatly depends 
upon the admixture of decayed animal and 
vegetable matter. 



QUESTIONS ON THE EARTHS. 

LIME. 

1. Why is lime never found pure in nature ? 

2. What name is given to the substances 
containing lime, and from what is the name 
derived? 

*3. Name the various minerals of which lime 
forms a principal part. 

4. From what substance is pure lime gene- 
rally procured ? 

5. Describe the process. 

6. What is the operation of slaking lime, 
and the effect produced ? 



184 QUESTIONS ON THE EARTHS. 

7. Name the different uses of lime, with the 
properties that fit it for those uses. 

8. What is a carbonate of lime ? 

9. Mention the different carbonates of- lime. 

10. What qualities do they all possess? 

11. Describe calcareous spar. 

12. What are stalactites ? describe their for- 
mation. 

13. What is marble, and how used ? 

14. Describe chalk, its situation, qualities, 
and appearances. 

15. What is calcareous tufa ? 

16. Name the limestones used in building. 

17. What is gypsum ? its qualities and uses ? 

SILICA. 

1. In what minerals is silica found in the 
greatest purity ? 

2. Why was it called silica ? 

3. What are the earths called that contain 
silica? 

4. What other name is sometimes given to 
them, and why 

5. W^hat are the distinguishing qualities of 
silicious earths? 

6. What are their chief uses ? 

7. What is sand ? 

8. Where does it abound, and to what 



QUESTIONS ON THE EARTHS. 185 

misfortune are those liable who travel in the 
countries where it is abounds? 

9. Describe common flint, and name its uses. 

10. In what geological situation is it found ? 

ALUMINE OR ARGIL. 

1. Why is clay called argil ? why alumine ? 

2. What are the distinguishing qualities of 
alumine ? 

3. What qualities render it so useful in the 
arts ? 

4. Name the different argillaceous earths. 

5. Name their various uses. 

6. What is loam, its situation and uses ? 

7. How is porcelain clay distinguished ? 

8. What clay is used for the manufacture of 
common earthenware, and how does it ditfer 
from porcelain clay ? 

9. What clay is used in the manufacture of 
pipes, and how are they made ? 

10. What clays are used for extracting 
grease ? 

11. Why are clays used for the bottoms of 
lakes, canals, &c. 

12. What kind of soil does clay form ? 



186 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLIX. 



LESSON XLIX. 

COAL. 

Coal may be considered as a mineral, both 
from its subterraneous situation, and the qualities 
which it possesses; many circumstances, how- 
ever, justify the now prevalent opinion that it is 
of vegetable origin ; the following are perhaps 
the most convincing. Carbon, which is the chief 
constituent of all vegetable matter, particularly 
wood, composes three-fourths of this substance. 
Coal is also found in the various stages of mine- 
ralization. Sometimes it possesses a completely 
fibrous texture and ligneous appearance, even 
the knots of wood being discernible, whilst the 
same bed produces specimens of perfect mineral 
coal. That which preserves most distinctly 
the character of wood is found at Bovey near 
Exeter. In Ireland a standing forest has been 
discovered, at the depth of one hundred feet 
below the soil. To this we may add the inflam- 
mability of this substance ; the numerous vege- 
table remains and impressions that accompany 
it ; and that it has never been discovered above 
the line to which vegetation reaches. 

Coal is of a black colour, bright, and fre- 
quently irridescent ; the structure is slaty ; it 



COAL. 187 

occurs always amorphous ; it is very combusti- 
ble, a quality which few minerals possess. The 
places from whence it is taken, are called coal 
mines ; they abound in many parts of England, 
and have mainly contributed to the wealth of our 
country. Both the persons employed in the mines, 
and the vessels which transport the coals, are 
called colliers ; the place where the trade is car- 
ried on a colliery. The access to coal mines is 
generally through a narrow, perpendicular tunnel, 
called a shaft, up which the workmen and coals 
are drawn by machinery. The mines at White- 
haven are some of the most extraordinary in the 
world. The principal entrance is by an opening 
at the bottom of a hill through a long sloping 
passage, which is hewn in the rock, and leads 
to the lowest vein or bed of coal : the descent 
is chiefly through spacious galleries intersecting 
each other, formed by the excavation of the 
coal, large pillars of which are left to support 
the ponderous roof. These mines are very deep, 
and are extended under the bed of the sea, even 
to where the depth of the water is sufficiently 
great to admit ships of burden. In these mines 
there are three strata of coal, which lie con- 
siderably apart from one another, and are made 
to communicate by pits. Miners are frequently 
impeded in their progress by veins of hard rocks 
called dykes, and the coal is seldom found in 
a direct line on the other side of them : to 
ascertain its precise situation is often a work 



188 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON XLIX. 

of considerable labour and expenee. Coal is 
generally situated at the foot of mountains, and 
in hollows which vary much in extent; it rarely 
lies much above the level of the sea. 

Several dangers attend the labours of miners ; 
the greatest is that arising from fire damp ; 
which is occasioned by the hydrogen gas or 
inflammable air produced in the mine, and 
which, when mixed with atmospheric air, 
explodes with great violence if brought into 
contact with any lighted substance. To avoid 
this danger, safety lamps are used, which were 
invented by Sir Humphrey Davy. They are 
of a very simple construction, consisting of wire 
gauze, so closely interwoven, that gas of sufficient 
quantity to cause ignition cannot enter them. 
Another danger arises from the formation of car- 
bonic acid gas or fixed air, which being hea- 
vier than the common air, occupies the lower 
part of the mines, and occasions death by 
suffocation. 

Coal is used to raise the temperature of rooms, 
to cook food, to supply the fuel for manufac- 
tories, (particularly where steam is required) 
and in the working of metals. It is one of the 
substances from which gas is procured : when 
this has been extracted from the coal, the 
residue is called coke, which is employed where 
intense heat is requisite. 



GRANITE. 189 

LESSOX L. 

GRANITE. 

Granite is a compound rock, formed by an 
aggregation of the grains of quartz, felspar, and 
mica. The proportions in which these compo- 
nent parts occur vary much. Felspar is the 
predominating, and mica is the least consider- 
able of these ingredients. The grains are also 
of different magnitudes ; when they are large, 
the granite is of a very coarse texture; but 
sometimes they are so small, as almost to give 
the appearance of an uniform mass. These 
circumstances occasion a great variety in the 
character of granite. When horneblende occurs 
in the place of mica, the rock is called sienite. 
Some felspar is liable to decomposition, and 
when this is the prevailing substance in the 
rocks, they yield to the effects of the weather, 
and become more or less of a rounded form : 
but when the granite is hard and close grained, 
which is more usually the case, they rise in bold 
prominent peaks, giving grandeur and boldness 
to the scenery. Granite is found in most 
countries where there are mountains of any con- 
siderable elevation. It forms the lofty Grampian 
hills in Scotland; and the Logan or rocking- 



190 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON LI. 

stones of Cornwall are immense blocks of this 
material. Granite is valuable on account of its 
great hardness and durability ; it is used for 
mill-stones, troughs, and steps; the streets of 
London are paved with it, and it is employed in 
architecture. Waterloo bridge, and the new 
London bridge, are constructed of granite. 



LESSON LI. 

SALT. 

Salt is a mineral substance, beautifully white, 
sparkling, and crystalline ; it is solluble, fusible, 
granulous, and of a peculiar flavour called saline. 
There are several varieties of this useful mineral, 
which are distinguished by the different situations 
in which they are found. The principal are sea- 
salt called also bay-salt, which is produced from 
the ocean ; the best comes from Portugal : salt 
drawn from brine springs : and rock-salt, which 
is dug out of the earth. Amongst the most 
extensive salt mines, hitherto discovered, are 
those at Wieliska, a picturesque little town 
situated on the sides of a gentle valley, about 
eight miles from Cracow, formerly the chief city 
of Poland. The traveller who visits these subter- 
raneous deposits of salt, being furnished with a 
guide and two lamp-bearers, is let down a shaft, 



SALT. 191 

of about 150 feet, by a rope. At the depth of 
90 feet, he arrives at the rock of pure salt of a 
dingy soot colour, here and there glistening by 
the light of the lamps. The swing is now 
abandoned, and the ear is assailed by the busy 
sound of spades, mattocks, and wheelbarrows, 
in every direction. This is the first floor of a 
large cavern, containing in different parts a 
stable for twenty horses, quantities of salt, some 
in bare masses, some in casks ready to be 
hoisted to the surface, stores of implements for 
the miners, &c. This excavation is about 100 
feet long and 80 broad, (beside the stable) ; and 
about 20 feet high. From hence a long gallery 
12 feet high by 8 broad, leads toward the 
interior of the mine, where lateral avenues branch 
off in various directions, each named after some 
Austrian prince or princess, and resemble more 
in appearance, the avenues of some subterraneous 
palace, than the passages of a mine. A flight 
of steps conducts down another 100 feet to the 
second floor ; in this descent the bed of salt is 
interrupted by a narrow stratum of pure clay, 
sometimes by a mixture of salt and the same 
earth ; these strata are in places very curiously 
curved, as though a rolling wave had been 
arrested in its course, and preserved in its 
original form. The miners are here found at 
work, some hewing pillars of salt from the 
rock, some cutting them into masses for home 
consumption, and some stowing the masses in 



192 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON LI. 

barrels for exportation. The cavern on this 
floor is rather smaller than the first, it con- 
sists of one spacious hall, and has no pillar to 
support the roof. 

Proceeding on this subterraneous journey, the 
traveller arrives at a wooden platform, from 
whence he looks down upon an abyss, which 
the simple lights of the conductors fail to illu- 
minate, though the spars of the mineral reflecting 
the rays of light, produce a novel and beautiful 
effect. When princes or other great personages 
visit the mines, a chandelier of crystal salt, 
which hangs in the centre, is furnished with 
150 lights, which display a stupendous cavern, 
having the appearance of a castle in ruins ; at 
the bottom are some rows of seats rising like the 
benches of a theatre, opposite to which is an 
orchestra; here, on such occasions, a small band 
play a few airs of slow and simple music, which 
has a most singular effect in harmony with the 
surrounding scene. Long galleries and flights of 
steps, all spacious enough to allow free course 
to the fresh air, lead deeper and deeper in the 
saline rock ; the scene now and then varies by 
a cavern full of workmen, and some along the 
galleries wheeling their little carts full of salt, 
each with its lamp in front. On the fourth floor 
there is a little subterraneous lake, about 80 
feet long and 40 broad, over which illustrious 
personages are ferried on rafts of fir logs, lighted 
by numerous flambeaux. Here terminates the 



SALT. 193 

bed of green salt, the most common sort and 
easiest to be cut. That next to it is called spica 
salt, which is harder and more close grained, 
and next succeeds a white and finer grained 
variety. This part of the mine is 700 feet below 
the surface of the earth ; 300 feet beneath this 
lies the finest crystal salt, which is reached by 
long flights of steps and inclined planes. The 
cavern in which it is found is sufficiently spa- 
cious for a regiment of soldiers to perform their 
manoeuvres in it. This is the deepest part of 
the mine, the air is quite pure, rather cooler 
than that of the open day, but much warmer 
than it is about half-way down. The return is 
through a different series of corridors and caverns. 
On the third floor is a simple tomb of salt, with 
the name of the late Emperor of Austria in- 
scribed with letters of wood neatly gilt. On 
the second floor is a large saloon with all the 
implements of mining, and the mode of letting 
them down with men and horses exhibited in 
transparency. On the first is a chapel present- 
ing an altar, statue of the Virgin, crucifix, and 
figures of Casimir I. and his wife, all cut out 
of the solid salt ; before the chapel is a small 
pulpit in the gothic style. To visit the whole 
of this extraordinary and extensive mine, with 
all its galleries and caverns, no less a distance 
than 300 miles must be traversed. 

The salt used in England is chiefly obtained 
from the sea, or salt brine springs. The saline 
o 



194 FIFTH SERIES — LESSON LII. 

water is admitted into open shallow trenches, 
and being exposed to the sun, or artificial heat, 
the water is evaporated, and the salt is left in a 
crystalline state. 

The conservative properties of salt render it 
invaluable for household purposes ; and its sti- 
mulating flavour, for removing the insipidity 
of food. When fused, it is used in glazing 
pottery. It is sometimes used as a manure. 

It was employed in all the Jewish ceremonies, 
being emblematical of purity and incorrupti- 
bility. Our blessed Lord calls his disciples the 
salt of the earth ; thereby signifying to them, 
that having by divine grace their own hearts 
purified, they are to exercise by precept and 
example, a purifying influence on the hearts 
of others. 



LESSON LII. 

SLATE. 

Slate is a mineral substance ; it is never found 
crystallized, but generally of a foliated struc- 
ture; it is either of a grey, blueish, or blackish 
colour ; and is opaque, dull, and brittle. It 
consists chiefly of alumine, with a small quantity 
of silex. It is dug out of quarries ; when first 
taken from them, it is 'comparatively soft, but 
becomes hard by exposure to the air. It is 



SLATE. 195 

used for writing, for whetstones, and for roofing 
houses. In order to ascertain its fitness for the 
latter purpose, it is weighed as soon as it is 
excavated ; it is then put into water for some 
days; if after being well dried it is found to 
have increased in weight, it is laid aside as un- 
suitable for the purpose, the trial having proved 
that it was porous. Such slate would not only 
allow water to pass through it and so destroy 
the wood-work of buildings, but it would also 
be liable to be covered with lichens and moss, 
in consequence of the moisture which it retains. 
If its quality is ascertained to be good, it is split 
into thin plates for roofing. The tiles are fast- 
ened to the rafters by pegs driven through holes 
which have been previously made in them ; the 
edge of one is laid over the other in the same 
manner as the scales of fishes. Slate which is 
dark-coloured, compact, and solid, is the best 
adapted for writing upon. In order to prepare 
the slate for this purpose, it is rendered smooth 
with an iron instrument, and it is then ground 
with sandstone, and slightly polished. That 
which is softer, and more friable, is used for 
pencils, 



o 2 



196 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON LIU. 



LESSON LIII. 

CORAL. 

Corals are the secretions made by polype 
insects, inhabiting the deep ; they sometimes 
assume the forms of branches of the most beau- 
tiful appearance ; sometimes they resemble beads 
strung- in a necklace, whilst others present a 
more consolidated mass ; but all are perforated 
with pores more or less minute, which are the 
habitations of the little architects. 

Among the various phenomena of the natural 
world, there are perhaps none more calculated 
to excite astonishment and admiration, than the 
vast coral reefs that rise up from the deep, and 
at times even constitute islands. They are pro- 
duced from a calcareous matter which exudes 
from the coral worm, and hardening, forms at 
once their habitation and their mausoleum. This 
creature is of the class of zoophytes, the lowest 
grade of animal life, the link between the animal 
and the vegetable kingdom. They work only 
under water, so that the coral reefs never rise 
above the level of the sea ; and when the 
tide retires the rock appears dry and compact, 
rugged and perforated ; but when the return- 
ing waters wash its sides, a most interesting 
spectacle of active life is presented, countless 



CORAL. 197 

myriads of various shapes and colours protrude 
themselves from the orifices, and the whole 
edifice seems teeming with life and animation. 

The coral ceases to grow in height when the 
worm is no longer exposed to the washing of the 
sea ; the work is then commenced at the sides, 
and other parts rise in succession till they reach 
the same height, and form a level surface at 
the top, with steep precipitous sides. In this 
manner, and by such insignificant agents, atom 
deposited upon atom, the solid rock is at length 
produced ; upon this the sea deposits sand, 
mud, and decayed sea-weed ; these prepare for 
mosses and lichens, which in their turn produce 
a soil for more perfect vegetation ; till at last 
the island thus formed, becomes a fit residence 
for man. 

As these rocks are constructed beneath the 
surface of the sea, they present no beacon to 
warn the mariner of their existence, and thus 
render navigation in those seas in which they 
abound, exceedingly dangerous. 



198 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON LIV. 



LESSON LTV. 

ON THE SENSES. 

The children having already been exercised 
in determining by which of the senses they dis- 
cover the presence of any quality, may now be 
led to consider more fully the senses themselves. 
The first two lessons are drawn out for the use 
of the teacher ; the substance only of the others 
is given. 

Teacher. Do you understand how you 
gained the knowledge of various qualities ? 

Children. By our senses. 

Teacher. How do you know when a thing 
is red or blue ? 

Children. By sight. 

Teacher. If you were blind, could you 
form a correct idea of colour ? Is there any 
other means of gaining this knowledge ? 

Children. No. 

-Teacher. True; and to ascertain this point, 
a blind person was once questioned as to what 
notion he had of scarlet : he said he thought 
that it must be like the sound of a trumpet. It 
is obvious he had no correct idea of a quality 



ON THE SENSES. 199 

discoverable by the sight, and he could only 
compare it with one that he had acquired through 
the medium of another sense. Can you tell me 
the reason why persons born deaf cannot speak ? 

Children. They cannot imitate sounds, 
because they never heard any. 

Teacher. Since then deaf persons have no 
correct ideas of sound, nor blind persons of 
colour, how did we acquire them ? 

Children. By means of the senses of seeing 
and hearing. 

Teacher. How then do you suppose our 
minds become stored with ideas ? 

Children. By the exercise of our senses. 1 

Teacher. Now if you have once had the 
idea of a dog formed in your mind, by seeing 
such an animal, when a dog is mentioned you 
can recal the idea, and fancy one immediately, 
as if it were present ; your mind will also perform 
the same operation when a quality is spoken of, 
which you had previously seen in some object. 
Again, if you see a dog unlike any you have 
observed before, you compare it with the species 
with which you are acquainted, and mark the 
difference between them. If I say that I have 
some green paper, cannot you immediately 
imagine the colour of which I speak ? 

Ghildren. Yes. 

1 It is probable that children would not at once arrive 
at the conclusion ; the Teacher must in that case lead 
them to it by easy questions. 



200 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON LV. 

Teacher. Did you then exercise your sight ? 

Children. No. 

Teacher. How then could you have the 
idea of green ? 

Children. We remembered it. 

Teacher. By what means did you first 
obtain the idea ? 

Children. By seeing something green. 

Teacher. What power of the mind do you 
exercise in recalling an idea ? 

Children. Our memory. 



LESSON LV. 

FEELING OR TOUCH. 

Teacher. What part of your body is the 
organ of touch ? 

Children. It seems all over our body. 

Teacher. Do you not find some parts that 
do not possess the sense of feeling ? 

Children. Yes : our hairs, nails, teeth. 

Teacher. And in other animals what parts 
are found destitute of sensation ? 

Children . The hoofs, horns, claws, feathers, 
wool, hair, &c. 

Teacher. What word would you use to 
express the absence of sensation ? What 
syllable prefixed to a word gives it a negative 
meaning ? 



FEELING OR TOUCH. 201 

Children. In. 

Teacher. Well, what word will express 
the absence of sensation? 
Children. Insensibility. 

Teacher. The parts then that you have 
named are insensible, and with the exception 
of these, the sense of feeling exists every where 
throughout the body : but what part of it is 
particularly adapted by its form, to become the 
organ of this sense ? 

Children. The hand. 

Teacher. Tell me what qualities we can 
discover in objects by this sense? 

Children. That they are hard, soft, rough, 
smooth, long, short, sharp, blunt, round, square, 
cylindrical, conical, heavy, light, fluid, liquid, 
dry, wet, hot, cold, &c. 

Teacher. By what general term would you 
express such qualities as round, square, conical, 
&c? 

Children. By shape. 

Teacher. By what general term would you 
express such qualities as large, small, &c. ? 

Children. By size. 

Teacher. By what general term would 
you express such qualities as rough, smooth, 
&c? 

Children. By kind of surface. 

Teacher. By what general term would 
you express such qualities as hard, soft, fluid, 
tenacious, &c? 



202 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON LV. 

Children. By kind of substance. 

Teacher. By what general term would you 
express such qualities as heavy, light, &c. 

Children. By weight. 

Teacher. Now arrange the qualities which 
you discover by your Feeling, under five general 
heads, i. e. shape, size, kind of surface , kind of 
substance, weight. 

The children having performed this exercise, 
the Teacher may mention the following facts. 

Teacher. The quickness and accuracy of 
the sense of Feeling is, we find, much increased 
by exercise, as is exemplified in blind persons, 
the defect of whose sight is frequently compen- 
sated in a great measure, by an exquisite sen- 
sitiveness of touch. Bats also appear to possess 
this sense in a remarkable degree. They have 
been observed, even after the loss of sight, and 
with their ears and nostrils stopped up, to fly 
through intricate windings and passages, without 
striking against the walls, and also to avoid lines 
and cords placed in their way. The expanded 
membrane that serves them for wings is probably 
the seat of this delicate sense of feeling, which 
so admirably fits them for their nocturnal and 
dark abodes. The palpi or feelers of insects 
possess the same quality very acutely, and this 
enables them to explore the surfaces of bodies 
in search of food, and warns them also of the 
approach of danger. 



SIGHT. 203 

The class should be required at the con- 
clusion of the lesson, to draw up some account 
of this sense, mentioning where it resides, what 
qualities fall within its cognizance, and to re- 
capitulate any incidental information received 
during the lesson. 



LESSON LVI. 

SIGHT. 

The eyes are the organs of sight, and are 
beautifully adapted for the office they have to 
perform. They are so constructed as to allow 
us to see things near, or at a distance ; to con- 
fine ourselves to the inspection of one object, or 
to take in at once a large sphere of vision. The 
part of the eye which admits the light, may be 
expanded or contracted, according as the rays 
are more or less powerful. This fact is remark- 
ably exemplified in the eyes of the cat and of 
the owl. Indeed nothing affords a more striking 
proof of the kind providence of God than the 
beautiful adaptation of the eyes of animals to 
their peculiar modes of life ; those of moles, 
fishes, and birds, are remarkable illustrations 
of this fact. 1 

1 The Teacher should here fully explain to the class the 
circumstances referred to, and give other similar instances. 



204 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON LVII. 

Of all the senses, that of sight is in most 
frequent and continual exercise. It fills the 
mind with the greatest variety of ideas, which 
it gathers not only from the objects of nature 
and of art, but from the writings of the wise and 
good of all ages. 

The qualities we discover by this sense 
are, transparent, semi-transparent, translucent, 
opaque, glimmering, bright, dark, sparkling, 
dull ; and the various modifications of colour, 
size, and shape. Many may be ascertained 
either by touch or sight ; as those of size, form, 
kind of surface, and substance. 



LESSON LVII. 

HEARING. 

The ears are the organs of this sense. In 
many animals the ear has externally the form 
of a trumpet, and is well adapted for gather- 
ing sound and bringing it to a focus; in 
man it contains many convolutions and chan- 
nels which receive the vibrations of air in 
every direction, and convey them to the part 
called the drum, which is the actual seat of this 
sense. 

The formation of the ears of animals is beau- 
tifully accommodated to their peculiar habits 



HEARING. 205 

of life. In beasts of prey the trumpet part 
is inclined forwards, easily to catch the sounds 
of those they are pursuing. But animals 
whose chief means of protection is flight, 
have these organs turned backwards, that they 
may be readily apprized of the approach of 
their enemies. 

The ears are the medium through which all 
sensations of sound reach the mind, without 
them we should be deprived of the advantages 
of verbal instruction, the pleasures of conver- 
sation, and the charms of music. 

The motion of the parts of a body, or the 
collision of one body against another, occasions 
a vibration in the air, which is similar to the 
effect produced on water when a stone is thrown 
into it. Circle succeeds circle, till the power 
of motion is exhausted : and just as any light 
substance within the influence of these undu- 
lations is agitated by them, so when our ear is 
within reach of these vibrations of air, the 
sensation of sound is produced. 1 The chirping 
noise of the cricket is occasioned simply by the 
constant friction of a little membrane against its 
wings. When two bodies are rubbed or struck 
together, we are in many cases able to deter- 
mine by the sounds emitted, the nature of the 

1 This account may appear, at first sight, above the 
comprehension of children ; a class, however, which had 
gone through the preceding exercises, was found fully 
capable of understanding it. 



206 FIFTH SERIES. — LESSON LVIII. 

substances brought into contact. Very different 
sounds are occasioned by the collision of metals 
and that of wood ; and the sound produced 
from hollow bodies is very unlike that result- 
ing from solid ones. There are various kinds 
of sounds : as shrill, deep, grating, harsh, loud, 
soft, harmonious, sweet. Animals produce dif- 
ferent sounds. The cat mews, the dog barks, 
the lion roars, the ass brays, the cow lows, 
the horse neighs, the rook caws, the goose 
cackles, the cock crows, the fly buzzes, the 
bee hums. Man speaks, laughs, cries, shouts, 
groans, whistles, sings. 



LESSON LVIII. 

SMELL. 

The nose is the organ of this sense ; its 
cavities are lined with a thin membrane sup- 
plied with nerves connected with a princi- 
pal one, which is essential to the perception of 
smell. 

By means of this sense, we derive all our 
ideas of odour. Though not so important to 
man as the other senses, yet it adds much to 
his pleasure ; and to many animals it is essen- 
tial, directing them in the search of their food. 



TASTE. 207 

The scent of dogs is peculiarly fine, and on this 
account they are employed in the chase. 

Odour is produced by exceedingly small 
particles called effluvia, which escape from 
odorous bodies ; these diffuse themselves in the 
atmosphere, and whenever they reach the ol- 
factory nerves, they occasion the sensation of 
smell. Heat promotes the escape of these 
particles, which are of a volatile nature ; hence 
when the sun shines brightly, the flowers are 
most fragrant. 



LESSON LIX. 



TASTE. 

The mouth is the organ of taste. The skin 
within the mouth is finer and more delicate than 
that of the rest of the body, it is supplied with 
a great number of blood vessels, and covered 
with innumerable papillae. Sapid bodies, how- 
ever, before they excite the sensation of taste, 
require to be moistened by the saliva. In gra- 
minivorous animals, the papillae are defended 
from the action of the stiff bristles of grass and 
corn, by a strong skin, which being perforated, 
allows the dissolved juice to reach the seat of 
taste. The principal qualities discoverable by 



208 FIFTH SERIES.— LESSON LIX. 

the taste are bitter, sweet, acid, pungent, 
acrid, luscious. There are many others which 
derive their names from the substances in which 
they exist. 

Many animals have some one of the senses 
in great perfection, but in none are they all 
found in the same degree as in man. 



VOCABULARY. 



Aromatic, derived from the greek dgw/j-a (aroma) a 
spice : having a pungent spicy smell. 

Adhesive, derived from the latin adhser ere, to stick 
to : composed of particles that not only unite 
together, but attach themselves to other substances ; 
thus gum, when placed between two pieces of paper, 
joins itself to each, and causes an union between 
the two. 

Affinity, derived from the latin affin is, related : 
the tendency which some bodies have to unite with 
others. 
Absorbent, derived from the latin absorb ere, to suck 
up : sucking up liquids. An absorbent substance 
must be also porous, for if there were no pores, the 
liquid could not enter the substance. 

Aggregation, derived from latin aggreg are, to collect 
together in one flock. A collection of things brought 
together in one. 

Argillaceous, derived from the latin argilla, clay ; 
partaking of the nature of clay, or consisting prin- 
cipally of clay. 

P 



210 VOCABULARY. 

Alloy t an inferior metal mixed with one more precious : 

or the compound of two metals. 
Astringent, derived from the latin ad, to ; and string 

ere, to bind : binding, contracting. 
Amorphous, derived from the greek a (a) not, and 

/xoQcp/j. (morphe) a form : without any regular form. 
Acidulated, derived from the latin acid ulus, slightly 

acid : having been made slightly acid. 
Acrid, from the latin acri s sharp : hot, or sharp to 

the taste. 
Anneal, to heat glass after it is blown, that it may not 

break. 
Amalgam the combination of mercury with any other 

metallic substance. 
Aqua fortis, signifies literally strong water, but is 

applied to a weak nitric acid. 
Alkali, a substance which uniting with acids, neutral- 
izes their acidity , it derives its name from a plant 

called kali, from the ashes of which alkaline sub • 

stances are procured. 
Atmosphere, derived from the Greek drfios (atmos) 

vapour, and acpaiga (sphaira) a globe or sphere : the 

air that surrounds our globe, composed of oxygen 

and nitrogen. 
Brittle, easily broken ; hard substances only are 

brittle. 
Congeal, derived from the latin con, together ; and 

gel u cold ; to turn from a liquid into a solid state 

from the influence of cold. 
Circle, a surface bounded by a curved line, which is 

equally distant at every point from the centre. 
Circular, in the form of a circle. 
Cone, a solid bounded by a flat circular surface called 

the base, and a curved surface tapering to a point 

called the apex. 



VOCABULARY. 211 

Conical, having the form of a cone. 

Calcined, burnt in the fire and reduced to a calx, or 
friable substance. 

Culinary, derived from the latin culina, a kitchen ; 
belonging to the kitchen. 

Chalybeate, derived from the Greek x aKv} \' (chaly bs) 
iron : impregnated with iron or steel. 

Corrosive, derived from the latin rod ere to gnaw : 
having the power of eating away anything. 

Contagion, derived from the latin con, together and, 
tang ere, to touch : something proceeding from body 
to body, by which disease is communicated. 

Concave, the inner curve of a hollow sphere. 

Convex, the outer curve of a sphere. 

Conservative, derived from the latin con, together, 
and serv are to keep : having the power of pre- 
serving or preventing decay. 

Caustic, derived from the greek KavcrriKos (caustic) 
burning : having the power to destroy the texture 
of parts by burning or eating them away. 

Cohere, derived from the latin co, together, and haer 
ere, to stick : to stick together. 

Caloric, derived from the latin cal or, heat ; heat. 

Collision, derived from the latin collis us, struck 
together : the act of striking two bodies together. 

Compact, firm, solid, close. 

Carbon, derived from latin carbo, charcoal : the pure 
inflammable part of charcoal. 

Carbonic acid, carbon united with a certain portion of 
oxygen. 

Calcareous, derived from the latin calx, lime : consist- 
ing principally of lime. 

Component part, derived from the latin con, together, 
and pon ere to place : a part forming with others 
a compound body. 

P 2 



212 VOCABULARY. 

Cylinder, derived from the greek kvXivZw (kylindo) I 

roll : a solid bounded by one curved surface and 

two flat ends. 
Cylindrical, having the form of a cylinder. 
Ductile, derived from the latin due tilts, capable of 

being drawn out : capable of being drawn out in length* 
Decomposition, the separation of the particles of a 

compound body. 
Dilatable, derived from the latin dilat are, to extend : 

capable of being expanded. 
Dense, close, thick : the opposite to rare. 
Diluted, derived from the latin dilu ere, to wash : 

having been made thinner or weaker. 
Economical, derived from the greek oacovo/Aia (oikono- 

mia) household management ; relating to the man- 
agement of a family. 
Elementary, not compounded, having but one con- 
stituent part or element. 
Emollient, derived from the latin moll is, soft ; having 

the power to soften. 
Exported, derived from the latin ex, out, and port are 

to carry : carried out of the country. 
Exotic, derived from the greek €|a> (exo) without : 

not produced in our country ; particularly applied 

to plants. 
Evaporate, derived from the latin e, out from, and 

vapor, vapour: to pass off in a vapour. 
Excrescence, derived from the latin ex, out, and cresc 

ere, to grow : something growing out of another 

body, not useful to it, and contrary to the common 

order of production. 
Exhale, derived from the latin ex, out, and hal are 

to breathe : to send out vapours or fumes. 
Elastic, having the power, when bent or stretched, of 

returning to its original position. 



VOCABULARY. 213 

Effervescent, derived from the latin effervesc ere, to 
boil up : bubbling up from internal commotion. 

Edible, or eatable, derived from the latin ed ere, to 
eat : fit for food. 

Fragrant, having a sweet scent. 

Fluid, derived from the latin flu ere, to flow ; having 
parts easily separable, and flowing about. 

Fusible, melting in fire. 

Friable, easily crumbling. 

Foliated, derived from the latin foli um, a leaf : com- 
posed of leaves, or laminae. 

Fracture, derived from the latin fract us, broken : 
the appearance of a mineral when broken. 

Fragile, derived from the latin frang ere, to break : 
easily broken or injured. 

Flexible, derived from the latin flex us, bent ; easily 
bent. 

Friction, derived from the latin fric are, to rub ; the 
act of rubbing two bodies together. 

Farinaceous, derived from the latin farina, flour : 
mealy, of the nature of flour. 

Filtration, derived from the latin filtr um, a colander : 
the process of passing a liquid through the inter- 
stices of another body. 

Fermentation, derived from the latin ferment um, 
leaven : internal commotion in the particles of a 
body ; plants undergo fermentation when they de- 
compose. 

Glutinous, derived from the latin gluten, glue : tena- 
cious, viscid. 

Globule, derived from the latin glob ulus, a small 
globe : a small globe or sphere. 

Graminivorous, derived from the latin gramen, grass, 
and vor are, to eat : feeding on grass. 

Granulous, derived from the latin granul um, a little 



214 VOCABULARY. 

grain : separating into small particles or grains, as 
sand. 

Generic, derived from the latin gener a, kinds : re- 
lating to a genus, or kind of things. 

Graduated, derived from the latin gradu s, a step : 
marked by a regular increase of degrees. 

Horizon, derived from the greek dpigw (horizon) 
bounding : the line that bounds our view. 

Horizontal, in the same direction as the horizon. 

Hermetically, so sealed as entirely to exclude the air. 

Hydrogen, derived from the greek vdccp (hydor) water : 
and yevvaew (gen naein) to produce : the lightest 
gas ; with a certain portion of oxygen it forms water. 
Iridescent, derived from the latin irid escere, to be- 
come like a rainbow : shining with the colours of 
the rainbow. 

Impalpable, derived from the latin in, not, and palp 
are, to feel : not to be perceived by touch. 

Imbricated, derived from imbric are, to cover with 
tiles : arranged in the manner of the tiles of a house. 

Imported, derived from the latin in, into, and port 
are, to carry : carried into a country. 

Impressible, derived from the latin in, and press, us, 
pressed : easily receiving and retaining an im- 
pression. 

Indigenous, derived from the latin indigena, a native : 
the natural production of the country : this term 
is applied to vegetables, as native is to animals. 

Insipid, derived from in, not, and sap ere, to savour : 
having little flavour. 

Incombustible, derived from in, not, and combust us. 
burned, not to be consumed by fire. 

Interstice, derived from the latin inter, between, and 
stit um, placed : small space between the different 
parts of a body. 



VOCABULARY. 215 

Impregnated, filled with any quality or thing. 

Incision, derived from the latin incis us, cut in : a 
cut or wound made by a sharp instrument. 

Impervious, derived from the latin in, not, per, 
through, and via, a way presenting no passage ; a 
substance is impervious to a liquid when it presents 
no pore or passage by which it can enter. 

Ignited, derived from the latin igni s, fire : having 
been kindled or set on fire. 

Infusion, derived from in, into, and fusus, poured : 
a liquid in .which something has been steeped to 
draw out its properties. 

Liquid, properly signifies that which has been melted : 
anything which we drink, or which forms into drops. 
Air is a fluid. Water is both fluid and liquid : when 
we speak of it as a stream or current : it is properly 
called a fluid, but when we speak of it as passing 
from a congealed to a dissolved state, it should pro- 
perly be called a liquid. 

Lamina, a thin plate. 

Laminated, formed of thin plates or laminae. 

Lateral, derived from the latin latera, sides : at the 
side. 

Ligneous, derived from the latin lign um, wood : 
made of wood, or having a woody structure. 

Lubricous, derived from the latin lubric us, slip- 
pery : slippery, smooth. 

Layer, that which is spread over a substance. 

Magnifying, derived from the latin magn us, great, 
and fi eri, to be made : making things appear 
larger than they actually are. 

Malleable, derived from the latin malle us, a ham- 
mer : capable, when beaten, of great extension, 
without the particles being separated. 

Malefactor, derived from the latin male, badly, and 
factor, doer : a criminal, an evil doer. 



216 VOCABULARY. 

Maturity, derived from the latin matur us, ripe : 
ripe, or having arrived at its most perfect state. 

Marine, derived from the latin mare, the sea : be- 
longing to the sea. 

Meagre, dry and harsh to the touch : a term applied 
to earthy minerals, as chalk. 

Metallic, composed of a metal, or of the nature of 
a metal. 

Native, derived from the latin nat us, born : growing 
naturally in a country. When applied to a metal, it 
means that it is not mixed with any other substance. 

Nutricious, derived from the latin nutri re, to nou- 
rish : containing much nourishment. 

Neutralize, derived from the latin neut er, neither : 
to destroy the distinguishing qualities of anything. 
The compound of an alkali and an acid has not the 
qualities of either, both being neutralized by their 
action upon each other. 

Nitrogen, a gas ; united in certain proportions with 
oxygen, it forms atmospheric air. 

Nitric acid, nitrogen, united with a certain propor- 
tion of oxygen. 

Nitrate, nitric acid united with another substance. 

Oxygen, derived from the greek 6£vs (oxys) acid, and 
yewaeiv (gen naein) to produce : a gas ; united in 
certain proportion with oxygen, it forms the air ; 
with hydrogen, water. 

Oxide, that which is united with oxygen. 

Odorous, derived from the latin odor, a smell, having 
a smell. 

Oval, derived from the latin ov um, an egg : having 
the form of an egg. 

Oleaginous, derived from the latin olea, oil : oily. 

Ore, a metal is called an ore when found united with 
another mineral substance. 



VOCABULARY. 217 

Opaque, derived from the latin opac us, dark : dark, 
not admitting any light to pass through. 

Ponderous, derived from the latin pond us, a weight : 
heavy. 

Portable, derived from the latin port are, to carry : 
easy to carry. 

Polarity, the property of turning towards the poles. 

Pliable, derived from the french pli er, to fold : easily 
folded into plaits. A young twig is flexible, linen 
is pliable. 

Pulverable, derived from the latin pulv is, dust : 
capable of being reduced to a powder or dust. 

Perforated, derived from the latin perfor are, to bore 
through ; pierced with holes. 

Plastic, derived from the greek TrKacra ew (plass ein) 
to form : capable of being moulded into any form. 

Petrifaction, derived from the latin petra,a stone, and 
fac ere, to make : turned into stone. 

Parallel, derived from the greek napa (para) by the 
side of, and aXAyXwv (allelon) each other : running 
in the same direction with another thing, and always 
keeping at the same distance from it. 

Perfect, when applied to a metal signifies that it does 
not lose any of its weight by fusion. 

Porous, derived from the greek iropos (poros) a pass- 
age : full of small pores or holes. All bodies are 
more or less porous, but the quality is only attri- 
buted to those in which it is obvious. 

Pungent, derived from the latin pung ere, to prick : 
warm to the taste. 

Process, derived from the latin process us, a going- 
forward, a regular course by which anything is done. 

Perpendicular, derived from the latin perpendicul urn, 
a plumb-line ; in the same direction as a plumb- 
line hanging freely. 



218 VOCABULARY. 

Pendulous, derived from the latin pend ere, to hang : 

hanging suspended. 
Quadrangular, derived from the latin qnatuor, four, 

and angul us, an angle : a form having four angles. 
Reflective, reflecting, or giving back an image ; this 

quality depends upon brightness. 
Reservoir, derived from the latin reserv are, to keep : 

a place where any thing is kept in store. 
Rarity, thinness as applied to fluids : the opposite to 

dense. 
Roasting, the process by which the volatile parts of a 

mineral are evaporated. 
Rhomb, derived from the greek pn/ifios (rhombos) a 

rhomb : a surface bounded by four equal straight 

lines — its opposite angles are equal, but not right 

angles. 
Rhombohedron, derived from the greek fro/xfios (rhom- 
bos) a rhomb, and 48pa (hedra) a base: a solid 

bounded by six rhombs, any one of which may be 

its base. 
Stratum, derived from the latin strat um, laid : a bed 

or layer. 
Supple, easily bent in any direction. 
Smelting, the process by which the pure metal is 

separated from the earthly particles with which it 

is combined in the ore. 
Silicious, derived from the latin sil ex, flint : consist- 
ing principally of silex or flint. 
Sea'etion, derived from the latin secret us, separated : 

that which is separated from any other substance. 

Tears are an animal secretion ; honey is a vegetable 

secretion. 
Soluble, derived from the latin solv ere, to loosen 

melting in a liquid. 
Solvent, having the power of dissolving things. 



VOCABULARY. 219 

Solution, that which contains any thing dissolved. 

Sphere, derived from the greek crQaipa (sphaira) a 
globe or sphere : a solid bounded by one curved 
surface, which is equally distant in every part from 
the centre. 

Spherical, having the form of a sphere. 

Solid, rilling up space ; in this sense it is opposed to 
hollow. 

Solid, having particles adhering closely together ; in 
this sense it is opposed to fluid. 

Sonorous, derived from the latin son us, a sound : 
capable of producing sound. 

Summit, derived from the latin summ us, highest : the 
top or highest part. 

Sapid, derived from the latin sap ere, to savour : 
having a flavour. 

Sparkling, bright in parts and not over the whole 
surface. 

Saturate, derived from the latin satur, full : to fill 
any-thing till it can receive no more. 

Semi-transparent, derived from the latin semi, half , 
trans, through ; and par ens, appearing ; presenting 
an imperfect passage to the rays of light so that 
objects do not appear clearly through. 

Transparent, derived from the latin trans, through ; 
and par ens, appearing : yielding a free passage to 
the rays of light, so that objects appear through. 

Translucent, derived from the latin trans, through ; 
and lux, light : yielding a partially obstructed 
passage to the rays of light, so that light only 
appears through. 

Tenacious, derived from the latin tenax, holding: 
having particles uniting firmly together. Gum 
being tenacious, the particles cannot easily be sepa- 
rated, and . on this account it acts as a cement ; 



220 VOCABULARY. 

glue, being more tenacious, acts as a still stronger 

cement. 
Tubular, derived from the latin tubul us, a small 

tube : having the form of a hollow cylinder. 
Tough, capable of being bent or extended without 

breaking. 
Tartar, a hard substance deposited on the sides of a 

cask during the fermentation of wine. 
Tartaric acid, tartar and a certain portion of oxygen. 
Triangle, derived from the latin tres, three ; and 

angul us, an angle : a form that has three angles. 
Triangular, having the form of a triangle. 
Transmitted, derived from the latin trans, across, 

and mitt ere, to send : sent from one person or 

place to another. 
Vacuum, derived from the latin vacu us, empty ; space 

completely unoccupied. 
Velocity, derived from the latin velox, swift : speed, 

swiftness. 
Viscid, derived from the latin vise us, bird-lime : glu- 
tinous, tenacious. 
Vitrifiable, derived from the latin vitr um, glass, and 

fi eri, to be made : capable of being converted into 



Volatile, derived from the latin vol are, to fly : pass- 
ing or flying off naturally by evaporation. 

Unctuous, derived from the latin unct us, anointed : 
fat, clammy, oily. 



THE END. 



LATELY PUBLISHED, 

BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 

LESSONS ON SHELLS, 

AS GIVEN TO CHILDREN, 

Between the Ages of Eight and Ten, 
IN A PESTALOZZIAN SCHOOL, 
AT CHEAM, SURREY. 

Illustrated by Ten Plates drawn from Nature, 
Price 5s. 6d. 



CABINETS, 



CONTAINING THE SUBSTANCES REFERRED TO IN 
THIS WORK. 



£. S. d. 
Cabinets adapted to the First Three Series 

of Lessons 7 

Cabinets adapted to the Remaining Series .110 

Cabinets adapted to the Whole Course . , 1 15 



Cabinets of Models for Teaching Fractions . 12 

Cabinets of Shells, consisting of 120 Species, 

including Linnsean Genera . . . .330 

Cabinets of Minerals, consisting of upwards 
of 100 carefully selected specimens, scien- 
tifically arranged according to Phillips . . 1 10 

**# Larger Collections made to Order. 

Interesting Collections of Glass Models for 
facilitating the study of Geometry and Crys- 
talography, consisting of 15 secondary bodies, 
inclosing the primitive nucleus . . .220 

The same in glass and Gilt . . . .250 

The above may be had of 

W. Edwards, Cabinet Maker, 13, Earl Street, West- 
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Harris, St. Paul's Church Yard; Roake and Varty, 
Strand ; Suter, Cheapside ; Hatchard and Son, Picca- 
dilly ; Nisbet, Berners Street; and Mr. Purday, Sandgate. 



C8^ 82 



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